Alice in the Underworld
by Is you heart in the game
Summary: Alice was living the ultimate irony when she fell down a hole and ended up in another world. The Underworld, to be precise. When she accidentally eats the food of the dead, she has to endure the punishment. NicoxOC
1. Prologue

**a/n I don't own PJO or Alice in Wonderland.**

**This is not actually the Alice from Alice in Wonderland. **

**I wrote this mainly off the top of my head. It's not my main PJO story, just something I had an idea for. Review if you have any advice :)**

I was just walking to school one day when I found it.

A hundred dollar bill? No.

A love note from a boy I really like? No.

A hole.

It looked like a rabbit hole actually, which made the entire situation incredibly ironic.

My name is Alice. I'm fourteen years old, I have blonde hair, and everyone thinks it's hilarious to tell me I'm the girl from Wonderland.

I really hate my parents for naming me that.

So anyway, I decided to look in the hole, and wouldn't you know it, I fell in.

Now I know what you're thinking. You can't actually fall into a rabbit hole, can you?

No. You can't.

Which made me think, as I fell the distance of at least three ten story buildings, that it wasn't a rabbit hole at all.

Eventually I passed out and when I woke up, I was laying flat on my back on the ground. I wasn't injured, save for a few scrapes and bruises, but now I had no idea where I was.

I stood up and stared in a giant cave that smelled like death. Green torches that barely gave off light were scattered throughout the room at random, creating hundreds of dancing shadows. There was a big black castle looming in the distance, which didn't look entirely safe, but I decided to go check it out. After all, it's not like I could get out the way I came in.

Eventually, I noticed something about the shadows: they were following me. I thought I was just imagining the movement, but then one of walked…er, floated, up to me and spoke. "You're not dead." It had the face of a young boy, maybe around my age. Once he spoke, it sort of looked like he had a regular body.

"I'm not?" I asked, wondering if I really was.

"No. You shouldn't be here."

"Okay, well, I'm trying to leave, so….see you later." I ran as fast as I could away from the creepy ghosts, tripping several times on my sneakers. The shades didn't follow me anymore, just watched me go with a look of infinite sadness that would take me years to forget.

Several hours later, I felt myself getting tired and hungry, and decided to stop and rest in what looked like a little garden. There were trees and flowers all around, although they were mostly dark and gloomy looking.

Actually, almost everything down here was dark and gloomy looking. It constantly reminded me that I was in a depressing place all alone with no place to go except for a castle which might lead to bad things anyway and was still really far off.

They don't call me Miss Optimistic for nothing.

I stared at a tree in front of me. It had dark red fruits hanging from it.

My stomach growled. I reached up and picked one of the fruits. This was incredibly unsafe, eating a strange fruit, but I was too hungry to care. I broke it open and picked up one of the seeds that spilled out. I bit half of it, slowly chewing and forcing myself to swallow.

Blech. It tasted terrible. I threw the rest of the fruit away and lay down, resting my head on my backpack.

Well, it was a terrible end to a terrible day.

I woke up to darkness, which could only mean that my whole cave experience wasn't a dream.

I felt icky. I was starving, sore, and felt farther away from the castle than ever.

Even so, I started trekking. I tripped on something and fell down, cutting my knees, but still I got up and kept walking. When I finally couldn't continue any longer, I fell into an exhausted sleep.

When I woke up, I could barely move. It took so much strength to stand, and was increasingly painful to walk. I had to keep stopping for breaths, sometimes falling to my knees. But, I kept getting up and walking.

When my legs grew numb, I didn't stop. I just kept walking. If I stopped, I might never get up again.

I made it very close to the palace. Then I collapsed.

***PJO***

Nico di Angelo woke in a cold sweat.

It had been three years since the war.

Three years since the nightmares.

It was normal for a demigod to have strange dreams, but Nico had had blissfully restful sleeps for three years.

Three _years. _

What could possibly be so important in the universe to break that streak?

He sat up in bed and thought hard, trying to remember the dream.

A girl….there was a live girl in the Underworld.

He sat back and rubbed his temples. That was…impossible. Preposterous. There was no way a mortal could enter the Underworld, and there was no way a demigod would be stupid enough to go down there alone.

Unless…

He sat there and struggled with his thoughts for almost an hour, and when he looked out the window there was sun streaming through the windows.

Ugh. Getting up at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday was so uncalled for.

He quickly dressed and exited the cabin, making sure to grab a hoodie for the chilly morning air.

Then he made his way to the Big House to have a talk with Chiron.

*A*B*C*

Thankfully, Chiron was an early riser. He was sitting on the porch drinking a cup of tea when Nico arrived.

"Nico." Chiron said, sounding surprised.

Nico looked him square in the eye. "I had a dream. I think I need to go to the Underworld."

He recounted the events to Chiron. "Nico, there's no guarantee that there actually is a living girl down there. Are you sure it wasn't a…ghost channeling you? Perhaps it was someone who died some time ago."

Nico shook his head. "I can feel someone down there, but she's very faint."

Chiron and Nico looked at each other, understanding passing between them. "She's dying."

Chiron nodded his head at Nico. "Go."

Nico ran back to his cabin, stuffed a backpack with supplies, ran into a shadow underneath a tree, and disappeared.

Nico arrived in the Underworld and fell to his knees. No matter how many times he shadow traveled, it always made him weak. He needed to rest, but he went in search of the girl anyway. Now that he was nearer to her, her presence was easier to locate.

He found her unconscious near the front gates. It was a teenage girl, maybe his age, with blonde hair that was tangled and dirty, and clothes to match.

He took a water bottle out his backpack and poured some of it into the girl's mouth. Her eyelids slowly opened.

"Hey." He said, handing her the bottle. She drank greedily. He looked around warily. The shades were starting to gather around them. Nico scowled. Stupid ghosts were too nosy. He needed to take her somewhere private and question her.

He didn't have the strength to carry her all the way to his room, so the only option left was to shadow travel. It took less strength to do so in the Underworld, but he still wasn't sure if he could make it.

More shades gathered, and Nico made his decision. He put the girl on his back and ran straight at a shadow.

***PJO***

Having some kid throw me on his back and run in a random direction was an interesting start to my day.

One second we were running in front of the gates, and the next second we were outside of a door.

And after that, the guy collapsed underneath me. He reached his hand up and turned the doorknob, pulling himself inside. I followed. It was a bedroom, decorated with a black bed, black dresser, black table, and a black fridge.

Man, I was sick of black.

I closed the door behind us and decided to ask the question that had been in my mind for a while now. "Where are we?"

The boy shook his head and crawled onto a rug on the floor. "Not now. Later. Rest." I wasn't sure if he was telling me or himself to rest.

I guess he was telling himself, because he passed out moments later and left me standing in a black room with an unconscious stranger in a scary world I didn't like one bit.

Hello, Monday. My name is Alice.


	2. Stranger Danger is so Overrated

I opened my eyes to a ceiling made of rock. There was a dim light coming from the corner, where I saw a boy slumped in a chair.

Then I remembered: the cave…the boy…the palace.

I pushed my hair back from my forehead and felt how dirty it was. I'm sure my face was the same way.

The boy noticed I was awake and came to my side, offering me a chunk of what looked like yellow fudge.

Now, I'm not stupid. I know it's unwise to take food from strangers. But, this boy _had _saved my life. Plus, I was starving. I would've accepted pie with dynamite sticking out of it at this point.

I practically snatched it out of his hand and stuffed it in my mouth. It tasted funny: kind of sweet, but also bitter.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand (which was kind of pointless, seeing how both were filthy anyway) and realized that I felt a whole lot better, My stomach wasn't eating itself and I was no longer on the verge of collapse.

The boy still looked tired though. He had gone back to his chair in the corner and sat with his knees drawn into his chest. I couldn't really make out much of his physical features other than the fact that he had dark hair and bags under his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He regarded me for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Alice." I said, again ignoring all the lessons my mother had told me about talking to strangers.

"Alice…" he repeated, like he was trying it out. "Welcome to the Underworld."

He was waiting to see my reaction. I couldn't remember where I had heard of the Underworld before. Maybe in a movie or something? Oh, yeah. Underworld: the movie about vampires and werewolves. He probably wasn't talking about that. "Ummm…?"

"Gods. People are so uneducated today. The Underworld is the place where everyone's souls go when they die."

"Are we dead?" I didn't feel dead.

"No. No mortal can be down here. Demigods can venture here, but it's very dangerous for them."

"Uh…oh." I've never been so confused in my life. Not even in geometry class.

"You don't happen to know anything about Greek mythology, do you?"

Greek mythology? What did that have to do with anything? "Umm…I think the king god is Zeus…and the guy with the blue hair is Hades?" It seemed to me like the room got colder.

"Be careful with names. They have power." The boy warned me, looking around anxiously.

"Riiight. Look, I really just want to get home. How do I do that?"

"I'll take you out of here. But, you have to come with me to see someone."

Hell, no. No matter how nice this boy was, that line just screamed danger. "Okay." I said. I could just ditch him once we were back where things made sense.

Just then, the door opened and a ghost poked its head in. "Lord Hades would like to speak with you. He said to bring your guest." The boy nodded, seeming unfazed by the fact that a ghost was talking to him.

The door shut. "Hades? The guy with the blue hair?" I shivered. Why was it so cold in here?

"Will you stop saying that? He does not have blue hair! Here." He tossed me a sweatshirt from his dresser.

Wow. This guy really needed to learn about stranger danger.

I put my arms through the sleeves anyway. It was a little too big, but at least it was warm.

The boy exited the room and I had no choice but to follow. We passed through several hallways and empty rooms. Some of them looked like offices. We also passed several ghosts who wore fluorescent orange vests that said 'Underworld Patrol'. I gave them a wide berth.

We finally arrived at two giant doors that had big skulls on them surrounded by a bunch of weird symbols. Greek, I realized.

The doors opened and we walked in. They closed ominously behind us.

The room was lit by the same torches I'd seen outside, so flickering light allowed me to see more than I could in the bedroom we'd been in.

I noticed the boy also had dark eyes and olive skin. His hair was messy and went down to his ears. He would've been cute if he smiled once in a while and got rid of the bags under his eyes. But, I couldn't really judge. I had pale blonde hair and blue eyes with light-colored skin; it all made me look like a delicate little doll. Oh, and I was practically flat-chested. Not exactly eye-candy for the boys.

We walked to a big raised platform in the middle of the room, where there were two thrones: one empty, and the other bearing a gloomy looking man resting his head in his hand and looking sadly at the throne beside him.

The boy bowed quickly. "Lord Hades." I copied his bowing.

The man's face hardened when he saw us and he straightened up. "Nico," he said in a stern voice. "Why are you here? Don't you have your own cabin at camp now?"

"Yes, I-"

"And who is this?" he asked, his gaze resting on me. I felt myself trying to shrink. His eyes were dark and seemed to hold years of knowledge, even though he didn't seem that old. He also had dark hair. I looked between him and Nico.

Were they…related? I mean, the hair and eyes and gloominess were a common trait, but the man's skin was pale while the boy's…er, Nico's, was olive.

"This is Alice." Nico said, stepping slightly in front of me.

"Alice, eh? What business do you have here?"

"I, um…fell down a hole, sir. I'm just trying to get home."

"Fell down a hole? That's preposterous! One cannot merely just 'fall' into the Underworld! Who is your parent?"

I looked behind me to see Nico making the "stop talking" sign to the man.

"Um…Roy and Clara Wood?" I offered.

Lord Hades turned to Nico. "Have you not told her?"

Nico scowled. "I was about to. I thought it might just be easier to show her the orientation film at camp."

"Am I supposed to know what's going on right now?" I asked rather rudely.

They both shot me a look. "No."

Yup. Definitely related.

They talked for a few minutes more before Nico grabbed my arm and started to steer me toward the exit.

"Oh, and Alice?" I turned around. Lord Hades looked bored.

"Just standard protocol…bit annoying to have to ask, but did you eat anything down here?"

"Well, I had that brownie that he gave me before-"

"Ambrosia." Nico put in behind me.

"I don't think I ate anything else…hang on, let me think." My memories were scrambled from this place. I remembered walking, and sleeping…although there was that one time I slept in the orchard…

"Oh, yeah! I ate like half a seed the other day."

Hades' eyes grew dark. "_Like_ half a seed? Or half of a seed?"

I wanted to shrink again. "Half of a seed."

Both of them acted like I'd just signed my own death waver.

"Why?" I asked, my hand going to my throat. "Am I in trouble?"

Nico walked up beside me and looked at his father pleadingly. "How long will she have to stay for? I mean, do we really have to use this rule still?"

"I cannot change what has been for centuries." Hades stated. "She will be here for fourteen days each year."

"Wait, what?" I had to _stay_ in this gloomy place?

"Father, please-"

"I'm sorry, Nico. There is nothing I can do." Hades actually looked apologetic. Somehow, I got the feeling he wasn't usually so nice.

Nico sadly took my hand and let me back to the bedroom. He shut the door and we moved back to our old positions like we never moved.

"Um…what just happened?"

Nico walked to the mini-fridge and got two bottles of water. He tossed me one, which I failed to catch.

"Have you ever heard the story of Hades and Persephone?"

I shook my head.

"Persephone is the goddess of springtime. Her mother is Demeter, goddess of the harvest. One day Persephone was out painting flowers when the ground opened up and out came Hades in a chariot. He carried her back to the Underworld and forced her to be his bride. Demeter was really upset and asked Zeus to bring her back. The only thing Persephone had eaten while she was down there were six pomegranate seeds, so Zeus told her she had to stay one month for every seed she ate. So for the two seasons she's down there, Demeter is sad and lonely and nothing on earth grows."

"So the empty throne next to your dad…was hers?" Nico looked surprised at the word dad, but he nodded anyway.

"What does that have to do with me, though?"

Nico looked at me very seriously. "You ate half of a seed. You must stay here for two weeks every year, whether you want to or not."

"I most certainly do not." I grumbled.

"Well, there may be hope. Persephone is coming tomorrow. She might be able to make Hades soften the punishment a little."

"Oh." I sighed and looked around the room. Why do these things always happen to me? "Do you live here?"

Nico stared at the floor. "I used to. Now I live at Camp Half-Blood."

"What's that?"  
"A camp for demigods- where I was going to take you."

"What's a demigod?"

He looked at me like I was slow. "Someone who's half human and half god."

I was finally able to put two-and-two together. Hades was a god and Nico was his son, so that meant Nico was part god (Man, that's cool!). "Why do you think I'm a demigod?"

"Because I can tell. Are you adopted? Have ADHD and dyslexia?"

"Yes. Yes and yes."

"Well, there you go. Anything strange ever happen to you?"

"I fell down a hole and ended up in the Underworld."

He almost smiled. "Besides that."

"Well, I guess some strange stuff has happened. I never really thought about it until now."

Nico stared at me. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Most half-bloods are claimed by the time they're twelve."

"Well I guess that means I'm not one. Oh, well!"

"You couldn't have gotten down here if you were a regular mortal. Look, once we get to camp, the orientation film will explain all this stuff better. But for now-" He dug around in a pile of books and found a dictionary-sized one. "-you'll want to read this. You need to learn about the other gods and goddesses. Trust me; you wouldn't want to accidentally insult someone or their parent."

"Right…" I looked apprehensively at the book. It wasn't that I hated reading; it was just easier to have someone read to me. I leaned back on the pillows and opened the book to the first page.

My dyslexia must have been a little off today because I barely had any trouble reading the pages. I was vaguely aware of Nico leaving the room at some point and my foot falling asleep, but I was so mystified by the fact that I could read properly that I couldn't stop.

I finally stopped when Nico came back. He was carrying one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen: a pizza box.

I could practically feel the drool hanging down from my mouth.

"Here you go!" he said, giving me the box and taking the book.

"I can eat this…right?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Don't worry. It's real food." He had a shadow of a smile again.

"Awesome." I dug in right away: it was cheesy and delicious.

"How'd you like the book?"

I nodded my approval because my mouth was full.

"You do realize that the entire thing is in Greek…right?"

I swallowed. "What?"

He showed me the book as proof. Now I noticed all the symbols in place of letters. I guess my surprise must have showed.

Nico grinned. "Believe me now?"

He really was cute when he smiled.


	3. I Have a Talk with a Flower Child

**A/N: Thanks for staying with me thus far :) This chapter is dedicated to my friend StEpPiNg StOnEs** **and to HanahBella, who writes one of my favorite PJO stories and was nice enough to review the last chapter :D**

Chapter 3

I woke up the next day to find I was alone. At least, I think it was the next day; it's hard to keep a sense of time when you're living in eternal darkness.

There was a note on the dresser: _Don't go farther than the walls. I'm not coming to rescue you again. –Nico_

How charming.

I read for a bit, learning about Artemis and Apollo, the twins, and how Athena made the first spider, but eventually I got bored (ADHD at it's best here, folks) and decided to walk around.

I closed the door quietly behind me (after all, I didn't know if I actually had permission to be walking around) and set off for the outside.

Unfortunately, Hades' palace was huge, and it took me nearly an hour to get out of it. I got lost several times and had to ask the "Underworld Patrol" for directions, which, by the way, they are _very _bad at giving, and eventually ended up at what I think was the back of the palace.

There was a large garden that stretched from the doorway to the wall in the far distance. You could tell the owner cared about their plants very much, even though most of them were black and very sad looking.

I touched a flower that looked especially gloomy and felt the smooth petals. It was a dark blue flower that was surrounded by black roses, and somehow I felt drawn to it: it was all alone in a sea of black.

And now I was comparing my life to flowers.

I walked away from the symbolic plant life and entered what looked like a vegetable patch. There were little signs indicating corn and onions and all sorts of things, but if it weren't for the signs, I never would've been able to tell the difference between them.

Most of them just looked like mushy black things. Clearly Persephone's talents lay in flowers.

I picked up a rotten tomato and tried throwing it. It was more like a rock than mush, and made a pretty good ball. I tossed it up and caught it as I walked towards the wall, where I was able to use a boulder as a step stool and hoist myself to the top.

I'd like to tell you the view was amazing, but it was the exact opposite.

In front of me stretched the Fields of Asphodel, where, according to Nico, most of the Earth's dead walked. I could see thousands of gray shades meandering about, just waiting for something to happen.

To my left I could see a man trying to push a large boulder up a steep hill and failing every time. Sweat was visible on every part of his body and he looked to be on the verge of collapse, but he continued to try pushing the rock to the top. I realized with horror that I knew who he was: Sisyphus, a king who resided in the Fields of Punishment for all eternity. I only knew his name because my science teacher had used him to explain the difference between active and passive energy.

My eyes traveled downward and I saw a small, clear pool with another man standing in it. He kept kneeling down and cupping his hands and bringing them to his mouth, but none of the water could get past his lips.

Not wanting to see any more torture, I turned to the right. This was the only splash of color in the entire Underworld: there were green trees and party lights strung up all over them. Speakers blasted a song I could just make out: Low by Flo Rida. I realized I was looking at the Elysian Fields: the place where heroes go when they die.

Now that I'd seen my three after-death choices, it was pretty obvious which one I wanted. I was no villain, but I certainly wasn't hero material.

I guess it would be the Fields of Asphodel for me, then. An eternity of wandering around in darkness…

"Hullo." I looked to see the face of a teenage boy. "You okay?"

"Oh, hey. You're the ghost from the other day."

"In the flesh! Well…sort of. And you're the girl who's not dead."

"I prefer to be called Alice, actually."

"Hmm. I like A better. I'm Jared! Or at least…I was."

"What's it like being dead?" I knew that was kind of a rude question, but I was curious.

"Oh, it's not so bad really. You don't feel anything and you can't really touch stuff; you just sort of float around and avoid the really bitter spirits."

"How did you die?" Another rude question.

"I don't really know. I was just walking to school one day and I heard this loud noise and saw a white light."

"Really? I was walking to school the other day and ended up here."

Jared feigned surprise. "School is trying to kill us!"

I laughed, something I hadn't done in a while. I liked Jared. He was nice for a dead guy.

"So, why are you still here?"

I sighed. "I ate some bad food, and now I'm stuck here for few days."

"Pomegranate seeds?"

"Yeah."

"Just like Queen Persephone…" he said sadly.

"So I've been told." I muttered.

There was a period of silence.

"Well, I should probably get going."

He seemed sad to see me go. "Okay. Can we talk again sometime?"

I smiled. "Sure."

He waved a ghostly arm. I climbed down the wall and made my way back to the palace, taking a last look at the giant wall.

It reminded me that I was in a prison, and the first friend I had made wasn't allowed in.

A-B-C-D

"About time you got back." Nico said when I opened the door. He barely glanced up from his book.

"Sorry, Mom. I was out walking." I turned my back and made a face at him.

"I saw that."

"Yeah, yeah." I opened a Styrofoam container sitting on the bed and was greeted by the wonderful smell of turkey.

"Persephone's here."

I swallowed. "What?"

"Queen Persephone. I spoke to her before and she said she'd see you."

I suddenly felt nervous. "Do you think she'll be able to help me?"

Nico shrugged. "No promises. But she's always had this calming effect on Hades, so he might slacken your punishment a little bit."

I sank back into the pillows, suddenly loosing my appetite.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"Why are you still here?" Wow. I was really rude today.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Why are you still taking care of me? You don't live here, right?"

He half rose from his chair. "You want me to leave?"

"No." I answered, maybe a little too quickly. "I just want to know why you haven't gone home."

"When I found out I was a half-blood, a lot changed. I mean, my life had been weird already, but after I got to camp some bad stuff started happening. I wouldn't want that to happen to you, too.

"Oh. I'm…sorry." Could there possibly be a deep side to the mysterious Nico?

"Plus, if I leave you alone, you'll probably just die from hunger or falling off a wall or something."

Nope. Definitely not.

E-F-G-H

"Do I have to drag you in there?" Nico asked, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

"No, I'm fine. Just need a few seconds of mental preparation." I tried taking deep, calming breaths. I was way too nervous; after all, Persephone was supposed to be very nice and understanding.

I took one last breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

Nico pushed the door open. "Good luck."

I entered a bedroom that was fairly large and spacious, especially compared to Nico's.

A woman in a white dress was sitting cross-legged on the bed, talking to a ghost and looking slightly irritated. She sent the ghost away when she saw me and beckoned me over.

The woman was pretty- she had blonde hair and blue eyes with slightly tanned skin. She would've been shining, but the gloomy atmosphere of the Underworld seemed to take away her luster and youthful beauty.

"Alice, my dear. So nice to meet you."

"Queen Persephone." I said, bowing.

She waved her hand. "Oh, please. We'll have none of that. Just call me Persephone. Now, Nico tells me you've gotten yourself into a predicament?"

I told her the whole story, from when I first fell into the Land of the Dead to when we spoke to Hades. She listened patiently through the whole thing, nodding occasionally or scowling at something Hades said.

"So, he said I'm stuck here for two weeks every year." I finished.

She frowned and looked at me like she was disappointed. "The whole reason I spread my story so widely was so no young demigod would go around eating the food of the dead."

I hung my head. "I know. I'm sorry."

She sat back. "Well, since we're family, I'm going to help you. I can convince Hades to lessen your punishment. Perhaps one day each month here? Sometimes it will have to be two days, of course, but I feel that one or two days each month is much better than two weeks every year."

"So, I'd be free to go now?" I asked hopefully.  
"How many days have you spent in this dreadful place?"

I thought for a moment. "…three."

Persephone sighed. "You're lucky. You'll be able to go back to your family and live a life outside of these walls. Spending six months here every year….well, it just gets to you. I wish I could be with my mother more often. She's been very morose these past few years."

"Your mom is Demeter." I recalled from the book.

She nodded. "Mommy dearest. Goddess of the harvest and all things related to. I've tried to grow vegetables to remind me of her, but it's impossible down here. I can barely grow any flowers or bring any sunshine without Hades complaining that it's giving him a headache!"

"Yeah, I…uh, found your garden." I pulled out the rotten tomato and handed it to her.

She got a very sad look in her eyes and stared at the black mass in her hands.

"Come here, Alice." She patted the bed.

I hesitantly climbed up and sat next to her.

"Tell me about your family." She handed me back the rotten tomato. I told her about my adoptive parents: my mom couldn't have any children of their own, so they signed up with an adoption agency. They were very nice people, giving me lots of things that I wanted, but not spoiling me. My school was a little harsh, but I tried my best and they didn't punish me for my less than stellar grades.

She gazed at me sadly when I finished telling her. "Discovering your true roots is never easy. Do your parents know about your heritage?"

"I doubt it."

"Then I would advise you to keep them in the dark."

I looked up sharply. "What?"

"As far as they know, you're just a normal child with unfortunate cases of dyslexia and ADHD. They've lived their entire lives in ignorance. If they found out the truth about you…well, they may not take the news so well."

I thought about what she said. My life had changed dramatically in the past three days. If my parents knew what had happened…

Thinking about my parents gave me a warm glow. I missed them, and I hated to think about all the worry they must have been going through.

"Don't worry. I'll have Nico walk you home. He'll use the Mist to convince your parents you were at a friend's house."

"The Mist?"

"It's what keeps the mortals from seeing monsters and weapons and things from our world."

"Oh…"

"You have much to learn. You must go to Camp Half-Blood and learn how to defend yourself."  
"Right away? Because I still have a couple days of school before the holidays start."

Persephone sighed. "As soon as possible then. Now I have to go speak to my _husband_ about your predicament. It was nice meeting you, Alice." She spat out the word husband like it was poison, then escorted me to the door.

I walked back to my surrogate bedroom.

"How did it go?" Nico asked as soon as I opened the door.

"Good. She said she can convince Hades to spread out the days…" I stopped, noticing he wasn't paying attention. "What?"

He was staring at my hand. "Where did you get that?"

I glanced down at the rotten tomato in my hands, only to drop it in surprise. It was now ripe and red and completely edible.

I'm not hallucinating now…right?

**a/n: Sorry about the slow update. My friend is going home in a few days so I've been spending as much time with her as possible. I know this was kind of a boring chapter, but camp will come soon, and hopefully a new environment will bring new things. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	4. I Get Married Three Times

**a/n: I'm so sorry! I started this chapter a while ago but then I got a rather extreme case of writer's block and then school started and….well, you get the idea. I apologize for how much this chapter jumps around, and I just want to warn you that it was written in 4 different locations, in three different states. So if the writing seems to differ here and there, that's why xD**

"Ready to go?"

I took one last look at the depressing black room. "Since I got here."

We walked through the winding hallways of Hades' palace and arrived at the throne room.

Hades sat with Persephone by his side. He straightened to attention when we walked in, but Persephone just sat with her head in one hand, looking bored.

"You are leaving?" Persephone had convinced him to lighten my punishment, so now I was allowed to leave for as long as I wanted, as long as I spent at least two weeks down here each year.

I nodded. "I'll be back next month."

"Very well." He turned to Nico. "Escort her home." He waved his hand and a big black door appeared in the middle of the room.

"This is for you." He said, tossing me something. It was a black ring with no decoration.

Why, Hades! This is so sudden!

"It will allow you to come and go through the Underworld as you please."

"Um…thanks." I said, slipping in on my middle finger.

"Good luck, dear." Persephone said glumly, twirling a lock of her hair.

"Thank you." I answered politely, not really sure what I needed luck with.

I opened the door and saw the wall of the throne room. I tried stepping through anyway, and then, all of the sudden, I was on a sidewalk and there were stars above my head.

I couldn't help it; I collapsed on the ground and rolled on the warm concrete. "Oh, sweet normality! I missed you so much!"

Nico snickered behind me. I told him to shut up.

When I stood up again, I realized that I was about a block away from my apartment. Everything on the street looked so _normal_: the graffiti, the garbage, the smell of cigarettes…I'd missed it more than I'd realized.

Nico fell into step beside me. It felt weird to have someone I barely knew walk me home, especially since he was the son of the ruler of the Land of the Dead.

"So…will you go back to camp now?" I asked, just to lessen the awkwardness.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll stay in New York for a few days with a friend."

"Is this a 'special' friend?"

"If by 'special', you mean a half-blood, then yes."

"Do you have any friends that are normal?"

"Umm…not really." His face scrunched up. "I might have before I was twelve, but I forget."

"Oh." It surprised me how easy it was becoming to deal with confusion.

We rounded the corner and I could see my building. Suddenly I was very enthusiastic to be inside: a hot shower, a home-cooked meal, my own bed-

"Wait, how am I going to explain my appearance to my parents?"  
Nico looked at me like he'd just realized how dirty I was. "The mist should cover it up, though I'm not sure what they'll see you as."

We arrived at my front door.

"Well, I'll see you around then." Nico said casually, turning around and heading back down the street.

"Wait!" I called.

He paused.

"Um…thanks." I said lamely.

I couldn't be sure, but it looked like he smiled.

-A-B-C-D

"Hi, honey. How was Melissa's house?" my mom greeted when I walked into the kitchen. She was making roasted chicken, my favorite dinner.

"Good." I had no idea who Melissa was.

"What is all over your face?" she asked, brushing her hand across my cheek.

Okay, I needed a good, reliable lie. "Bubble gum. I, uh…blew a bubble and it…popped."

Wow. That might possible be the worst excuse I have ever made.

Her eyes clouded over. "Oh, of course." Her voice sounded far away. "Why don't you go shower? Dinner will be ready by the time you come out."

Looking in the mirror felt weird after I had gone so long without doing so. My hair was so dirty it looked brown, and the thought of brushing it later made me cringe. My clothes were torn and muddied, and my face was grimy and streaked. It didn't really fit my vision of what someone who was half god should look like. Despite what Nico and Hades said, I still didn't really believe I was the offspring of an all-powerful being.

And hopefully I could stay in my world of denial forever.

-E-F-G-H

The second-to-last week of school flew by quickly, and I became lost in final exam reviews and last-minute essays. The teachers were working us all into the ground, and the freedom of summer seemed further away with each passing hour.

My two closest friends and I decided a mall break was necessary to clear our heads a few days before exams started.

Since we always got, to use an old expression, "dolled up" when we went to the mall, I curled my hair and wore my favorite summer dress.

I loved my friends because we were all so different: Kristine was African American and always wore her hair in a cute ponytail. Her family had a lot of money, so she had tons of nice clothes the latest technology. Alyssa was beautiful: she was Egyptian, so her skin was always deeply tanned. Her hair was cut short like a boy's, but it actually did her justice. She had a body like a model and wasn't afraid to show it.

We always walked arm in arm, with me in the middle, because our contrasting skin colors looked really cool.

We visited all our favorite stores in the mall and then headed toward the food court, as was tradition. We passed by Claire's and decided to go in, where I found a silver flower that wrapped around your finger like a ring.

A bored girl that had to be at least seventeen was working the register. She was pretty, with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Is this all?" she rang me up and we shared a smile. For some reason I felt like I knew her.

When I took the bag, she said "See you soon, cousin." I thought that was a weird thing to say to someone, so I dragged Kristine and Alyssa out of there.

We walked leisurely, chatting amongst ourselves about boys and clothes and entirely avoiding the subject of school, when Alyssa suddenly stopped and went into full flirt mode. "Hey." She said in her most seductive voice.

I turned to see her latest victim and nearly gasped with surprise. "Nico?"

"Alice," he acknowledged me, nodding slightly.

Alyssa looked between us with evident surprise. "You two know each other?"

"Kind of…"I hoped they wouldn't ask for details.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Nico pulled me aside without waiting for an answer.

"I wanted to give you this." He held out a ring, much like the one Hades had given me, except it was a gold color.

I eyed him warily but took it anyway. "And what dark purpose does this one have?"

"It's a knife. I know you don't know how to fight yet, but I figured you need something to defend yourself just in case."

"Just in case what?"

"You look different." he said, completely avoiding the question.

"What? Showered? Clean? Nice-smelling?"

"Pretty." He wrinkled his nose like the thought disgusted him, which actually made it kind of insulting.

"Sorry. Next time I'll be sure to schedule my mud-wrestling practice the day I see you."

"That'd be cool."

I looked over at my friends, who were waiting impatiently for me to finish talking so they could berate me with questions. "I gotta go."

"When do you finish school?" he asked, ignoring me again.

I rolled my eyes. "Another week. I will go with you to your camp of weirdos, since you apparently put a tracking device on me while I was sleeping."

Nico scowled, and I decided this was as good a time as any to make my exit. I rejoined my friends and we started to leave.

"Hey, Alice?" Nico called.

I turned.

"Don't forget. You're a weirdo, too." With that said, he turned and walked away.

My face coloured. Jerk.

To my friends' credit, they waited until we were seated with food to ask me anything.

"So, who is he?" Alyssa picked at her salad and frowned.

I sighed. "His name is Nico. He's an…acquaintance."

Kristine raised an eyebrow. "An acquaintance who gave you a ring?"

Time for some more lying. "I lost it. He was just giving it back to me."

"Mm hmm."

Well, I thought it sounded convincing.

-I-J-K-L

We hung around in the parking lot for a few minutes, waiting for Alyssa's mom to pick us up, when Kristine spotted two teenage boys walking together and obviously giving them "the eye".

They ditched me fast, and I sat on the concrete wall outside, feeling slightly peaceful.

I noticed a dying potted plant behind me and remembered the tomato I'd resurrected.

How had I done that, anyway? I hadn't thought much about it since it happened, but I remembered being with Persephone and feeling this warm glow when I was talking about…my parents? Yes, that was what I was talking about.

I looked to make sure my friends were still distracted, then held my hand over the dying plant.

I thought about my parents- the way my dad still needed instructions to tie his tie, the way my mom's homemade lemonade tasted- and suddenly I felt that warm glow again.

I opened my eyes to see the plant coming back up, the leaves turning a vibrant green and spreading out.

"Boo!"

"AH!" I nearly fell off the wall and saw my friends laughing and the two boys nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry." Kristine wiped a tear from her eye. "You just looked so intense." Her gaze fell on the plant. "Was that like that before?"

"Oh, look! Your mom's here!" Thank you God, for that convenient timing!

I jumped off the wall and felt the world sway. My friends grabbed me before I could hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" They both asked worriedly, helping me stand properly.

"Yeah. Fine, fine. Just got a little dizzy for a moment."

Okay, so apparently saving plants from the afterlife made me a little dizzy. Nothing I couldn't handle.

-M-N-O-P

"Alright, class. Put your pencils down."

There were unanimous sighs as everyone leaned back and stretched their arms. I grinned happily and handed the teacher my paper.

The last exam was finally over, and school was officially out for the summer! I giddily skipped down the hallway and dumped the remaining contents of my locker into my backpack.

Alyssa and Kristine were at our usual spot: the front steps of the school. We greeted each other enthusiastically and celebrated the end of exams.

Then we talked about summer plans. Alyssa was going to Egypt to visit relatives for the first two weeks of the break. Kristine wasn't doing anything until July, when she started her new job at a horse farm teaching little kids how to ride.

"What about you, Alice? What are you doing?" All at once my giddiness went away. What I really wanted to do was sleep until noon every day and watch movies until 4 A.M. I had promised Nico I would go with him, but maybe if something came up…

I sighed heavily. "I'm going to camp."

My friends shared a surprise look. "Camp? For what?"

"It's a camp for young demigods who want to learn how to defend themselves in case they're ever attacked by a mythological monster."

My friends stared at me.

"I'm kidding. It's just a camp where we make macaroni art and sing campfire songs. My parents are making me go." I stated.

"Oh." They said, sharing confused looks.

I was gloomy and pessimistic as I boarded the subway home. The car was full to bursting, like it always was this time of day, so I grabbed a pole and turned my ipod on full blast. At every stop, more and more people got off. Several seats opened up, but I was too lazy to move.

Finally we were on our way to the last stop. The only person left in the car with me was a woman in a brown trench coat. She was sitting on the far side, completely unaware of my existence.

I pulled the elastic out of my hair and shook out my curls, secretly enjoying the smell of my shampoo from the shower this morning.

And then the woman looked at me. Her eyes were red. She smiled slowly to reveal sharp teeth.

I felt a chill run down my spine. The doors slid open.

I tried to high-tail it out of their, but I could feel the woman-thing right behind me. The station was deserted.

"Such a beautiful young girl." The woman drawled behind me. She had a strange voice: it sounded whimsical and pretty, like I was talking to a civilized lady, instead of someone with sharpened teeth. "I was beautiful once…but then a naughty lady was jealous of me."

I turned around nervously. The lady stopped walking. She didn't walk exactly, just kind of glided down the walkway.

"Do you know what that jealous woman did to me?"

I gulped. "No."

The woman smiled her creepy smile again. A forked tongue crept between her teeth.

I know in situations like this, adrenaline is supposed to kick in and I'm supposed to do something brave and heroic, but it was like my brain was detached from my body. All I could do was stand there and watch as she unbuttoned her trench coat.

The first thing I noticed was the hideous sweater she was wearing: it was light blue with little strings poking up all around it and fabric that made it seem like it would be very itchy.

The second thing I noticed was the distinct absence of her legs. Where the sweater ended a large tail began. It was the end of a snake. Somehow the tail was able to hold her body up.

"You see? You see what that awful woman did to me?" she cried. "I used to be a queen! I used to have a kingdom with subjects who would throw themselves at my feet!"

"I guess this was a kingdom for the visually challenged?" It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You children of the gods are all the same. Ungrateful little brats who think you can do whatever you want."

"Sorry. I never was one to respect my elders." The snake woman lashed out at me. Naturally, I did something brave and heroic: I ran.

I ran through the gate and up the escalator, dodging people as I went, but whenever I looked back she was right behind me.

Finally I ducked into an alleyway, trying to hide.

Bad choice. It was a dead end.

I turned around, back against the wall, and saw the silhouette of someone with the body of a snake and torso of a human.

I slipped the ring Nico had given me off my finger. "Knife." I told it.

It shimmered and grew into a reasonably sized fighting weapon. Sweet. Normally, I would've taken the time to appreciate how cool this was, but there was a definite possibility that I was about to die, so I was a little distracted.

The woman advanced on me slowly, relishing the fact that she had me cornered. "I shall enjoy devouring your flesh greatly, young demigod. Humans just taste so bland; it's not every day that I get to munch on godlings."

She leaped at me. I desperately dove out of the way, but she knocked me to the ground and held me there. Her face lowered to my neck, eyes eager to break skin and have a tasty meal.

And then she turned to dust, and I was lying alone in an alleyway.

I didn't move for a moment, too stunned to do anything. My knife was still pointed upward, covered in a sticky green substance from the monster.

I shakily sat up, dragging the knife on the ground and trying to brush the dust off.

I had never been so scared in my life. I don't know how long I sat there, just staring at nothing, but eventually my brain started to work again, and I realized I was very tired, very sore, and very done with the whole Greek mythology thing.

"Ring." I said, and slipped it back on my finger.

I walked slowly out of the alley, knowing that would not be my last battle, but also knowing that my home was only a few blocks away.

It felt like I was stuck between two worlds, and they were both yearning for me to be in them.

I was certain of one thing, though. I was going to camp this summer. And I was leaving tomorrow.

**a/n: So me and my friends had a PJO party on Percy's birthday. These were my same friends that came with me to see the Percy Jackson movie decked out in orange Camp Half-Blood shirts and camp necklaces that my friend Jackie did a fantastic job making. We celebrated Percy's 17****th**** birthday the other day by donning our camp gear again and making a blue cake. The sad thing? We're all sixteen years old and single. But, boy do we have fun xD**


	5. I Recycle Grass

**a/n: Lyrics belong to "Famous Last Words" by My Chemical Romance. I don't know the exact layout of camp, so sorry if things are a bit off. I promise the Underworld won't be excluded from this story; it'll just be absent for a few chapters. **

"_I am not afraid to keep on living. I am not afraid to walk this world alone. Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven. Nothing you can say can stop me going home._" I sang as I folded my last shirt and shoved it in my suitcase.

"Alice, turn the music down!" My mother's voice floated in from down the hallway.

I honored her wishes and turned the knob all the way to the left. Morning sounds filled the room, including a man hacking up a lung and a taxi driver angrily beeping the horn at a pedestrian.

I closed the suitcase and raised the handle, exiting the room before I could get sad about leaving. I'd never been away form home by myself before. I wasn't planning on staying at Camp Weirdo for more than a week, but it was still upsetting to have to go.

My parents were sitting in the living room.

"All packed?" my mom asked. I nodded.

My dad looked distastefully at my outfit. "That's what you're wearing?"  
I looked down at my jean shorts and hoodie. "Yeah?"

He didn't say anything, just made a face.

"Roy, relax. She looks fine." My mom got a little teary-eyed. "You'll call every night?"

I rolled my eyes, even though I felt like crying with her. "Yes, mom."

"No boys." My dad said sternly.

I smiled. "Yes, daddy."

They both hugged and kissed me goodbye. I walked out the door and looked back sadly at my apartment. Then I entered the car that was waiting on the street.

A-B-C-D

"Hullo." I said, shutting the door to the back seat.

The driver said nothing, just started the engine and began the trip. He wore a long coat and a chauffeur hat with leather gloves. I could have sworn there was an eye on the back of his neck that was staring at me.

To pass the time, I texted my friends and played games on the Nintendo DS my parents got me for Christmas.

It was an hour drive, and the time went quickly.

I didn't realize we'd stopped until I looked out the window and noticed a hill that clearly wasn't moving.

I stared at the driver for a moment. He wasn't making any sort of move to get out, so I opened the door and said thank you.

He smiled. There _was _an eye on the back of his neck! I was never going to get used to these things.

I dragged my suitcase up the hill and passed a girl going the opposite way. She didn't seem to notice me as she gabbed into her cell phone and carried about eight pink bags behind her.

I got to the top of the hill and noticed a pine tree with gold fur hanging over one of the branches.

I stared at it, wondering for what purpose someone had decorated a tree with a strange colored fur. Christmas in June?

I started down the hill and headed for the big farmhouse on the left. Nico had told me earlier that that was where I should check in.

The porch steps creaked as I walked up. There was a rocking chair on the left and an empty table on the right that was covered in playing cards and empty diet coke cans. As welcoming a sight as any, I suppose.

I hesitantly knocked on the door and received no response. I knocked again.

Silence.

I shifted my eyes back and forth and reached for the door handle. Was it rude to go in without being invited?

The inside of the farmhouse was hot from the 1:00 sun and smelled like anchovies.

"Hi, can I help you with something?" a voice asked.

I turned and saw a girl sitting on one of the couches in the room, reading a book.

She was pretty, with braided brown hair and a cute tank top and shorts. She looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't place her.

"Um…I'm new here?" I had no idea what to say. I barely knew where to go, let alone if I needed help with anything. Except maybe my sanity.

"Oh, hi! You must be Alice! Chiron and Mr. D are out right now, but they told me you'd be arriving today. Most of our campers don't get here for another week or two."

Ugh. I hated people that were energetic all the time.

"I'm supposed to show you around camp, so let's go!"

And perhaps we could stick glass in our arms while we're there! Anything is fun when your tour guide is energetic!

"So, my name is Jenn. This is my sixth summer at camp, and I'm a daughter of Aphrodite." Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, right? That explains why she's so pretty.

"Camp Half-Blood was founded in blah blah to blah blah blah young demigods!"

Maybe if I snuck away, she wouldn't notice.

"This is the volleyball court! There's no one playing right now, since the campers just finished lunch, but there should be smiling campers here in no time!"

Ugh. Pardon me while I gouge out my ears.

"This is the climbing wall. It's very difficult for first-time campers, but they all get it eventually!" She winked at me.

Now I have to cut my eyes out, too.

"These are the showers. The lake is to your left, and the forest is nearby, too. But they aren't shown on the tour, so you'll have to check them out on your own!"

Seriously. Who's this happy all the time?

"And finally, these are the cabins."

There were rows of cabins all around, each having their own distinct decorations.

A few yards away there was a giant horseshoe of cabins.

"The horseshoe is for the major gods and goddesses. These rows are for the minor gods and goddesses. Who's your parent?"

"Um…"

"Oh, you're undetermined? I'll show you to the cabin. There's no one else there right now, but no one ever stays in there for long, so you'll be fine."

She showed me to the very last cabin, a plain brown one with no decoration and a screen door that didn't hang straight.

"Here you are!" Jenn pointed proudly. "I'm sorry to run, but I've got to go wait for one of my sisters who's coming today. If you have any questions, just ask a camper. Mr. D and Chiron should be back first thing tomorrow!"

"Uh…okay."

"Peace, cousin!" she started to walk away.

Something clicked in my brain. "Hey, weren't you that girl working at the mall?"

She turned and smiled. "Welcome to camp, Alice."

Uuurgh. Chills.

E-F-G-H

I was glad that my over-enthusiastic tour guide was gone, but "my" cabin was kind of lonesome looking, and I'd only seen a handful of people since I walked into camp.

The door was hard to get open, and I wasn't surprised to see that the interior of the cabin was as appealing as the outside.

There were two sets of bunk beds opposite each other, with little night tables next to ones at the bottom.

The only decoration in the room was a Twilight poster that was starting to peel off the wall. There were lipstick marks all over it.

I immediately tore the thing off the wall and threw it in the trash. Like I really want an albino dude with a bad afro staring at me while I get dressed. Ew.

I unpacked my clothes into one of the two dressers in the room and shoved the suitcase under one of the beds.

I then proceeded to hang up my own decorations, which consisted of band posters, pictures of friends, and my jewelry box.

The cabin looked much more homey with 3 Days Grace, Blink 182, and Ashley Parker Angel looking down from the walls.

I looked at my watch. It was almost 2:30, and I had no idea what to do.

I exited the cabin, struggling a great deal with the broken door, and walked in a random direction.

I passed by two boys running from a girl with red hair, who was wet and clearly angry. None of them looked in my direction.

A group of kids were sitting under a tree, laughing and nudging each other.

I'd never felt more alone in my life. It was one thing to _try _and be invisible, but it was another thing entirely to be walking around in a foreign place and having no one know who you were.

I eventually walked to what looked like some kind of stage, only it was filled with swords and other fighting equipment.

There was one person in there, hacking away at a dummy made of cloth and stuffed with foam peanuts that were exploding out the sides.

"Nico!" I exclaimed happily, so ecstatic to see someone I knew that I forgot to be cool.

He stumbled backwards and looked around wildly, trying to find who had called his name.

He saw me and grinned. "Alice! Good to see you again. How goes it?"

"Good. You're sweaty."

"I know."  
"Who works as the tour guide here? She was…bright."

Nico grimaced. "Jennifer Smith. She's probably the nicest girl here, but she's just so…"

"Happy." I finished for him.

He nodded. "Yeah. I had to listen to depressing music for an hour after I met her for the first time."

I poked his arm. "Emo boy."

"Shut up, Plain Jane."

"Now that's just mean."

"You started it."

I scowled at him and looked around. "What is this thing?"  
"The arena. It used to just be for sword fighting, but now they've started to put on shows and stuff here. One time we even had a karaoke night."

"That sounds like fun."

"It wasn't, trust me. One of the Apollo kids lost part of his hearing."

"Well that's…unfortunate."

"Yeah. Well, want me to show you around?"  
I grimaced. "No thanks. One tour is enough for me."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Not a tour. I'll just show you around, introduce you to everyone."

"Okay."

"Just let me shower first. You're in the undetermined cabin, right? I'll meet you there."

"Okay." I said again. I left when he started putting the dummy and swords away.

It took some finding to get back to my cabin, but I eventually made it without getting seriously lost. Not having anything to do, I just turned on my ipod and laid back on my bed.

I-J-K-L

A pillow hit my face. My eyes jerked open and looked over to the door. "You could knock!"

"I did. You had your ipod on."

"Oh. Right." I plucked the headphones out and stretched my arms.

Nico had changed into jeans and a black T-shirt. Something told me his wardrobe consisted mostly of these, just as mine was all hoodies and tees. "Nice posters." He remarked, looking around.

"Thanks. I quite prefer them over the Twilight one that was in here before."

Nico nodded. "That was Michelle. She got here last summer. Biggest Twilight fan that ever did live."

"Is there anyone at this camp that I'll actually like?"

"Sure." He said. "You'll meet people that are normal."

Why did I seriously doubt that?

He led me outside. We passed by the group of kids that were there before. Nico nodded toward one of them. "Hey, Jess."

The girl looked over at him and smiled. "Hey, Nico. Who's your friend?" Jess had dark brown hair pulled into pigtails. She wore skinny jeans and converse.

"This is Alice. Alice, meet everyone."

"Hi, everyone." I offered, raising a hand.

They all murmured hellos.

We walked on, but something about the way Nico had acted was bothering me. "So…Jess, huh?"

His face reddened. "Shut up."

I nudged him in the arm. "Well, she's cute. I approve."

"We're not talking about this anymore."

I smirked. This was good blackmail material.

We were silent for a while.

"Can you explain this whole getting claimed thing?" I asked.

He nodded. "Sure. When the Titan War ended three years ago, Percy Jackson made the gods promise to claim all their children. That's why most kids are claimed when they're twelve. Most kids are that age when they get here for the first time."

"Were you?"

"Was I claimed? No. But I was twelve. I came with my older sister."

"Oh. Where's she?"

"Dead." He said stiffly.

"I'm sorry." I hated having to say that. Someone needed to make a better way to respond to a person's death.

"Annabeth is the main architect of the camp. She built all the minor gods' and goddess' cabins, and she does a lot of work on Olympus."

I stopped short. "She goes to _Olympus_? Like the magical home in the clouds?"

Nico grinned. "Yes. You'll be able to, too. We have a 'meet the parents day' in July."

"I don't have a parent."

His smile faded. "You'll get claimed. Everyone does."

"Uh huh. So, do these Percy and Annabeth people still go here?"

"Yup. They should be getting here soon. Percy had some stuff to take care of."

"How old are they?"

"Eighteen, but Percy will be nineteen in August."

"Really?"

"Actually, they've been dating for three years now."

"Three _years_?" I asked incredulously.

He laughed. "You'll be hearing a lot about them. Their relationship is a bit… unusual."

We passed by a giant wall, where a few kids with climbing gear were trying to race to the top before a wave of lava touched them.

Nico followed my gaze. "That's the climbing wall."

"Isn't that kind of…dangerous?"

Nico shrugged. "No one has died yet."

"That's comforting."

"NICO! WHO'S YOUR FRESH MEAT?"

Nico swore under his breath.

A girl with a baggy sweatshirt and a bandana came strutting up to us. "What's your name?" She demanded.

"Uh…Alice?"

"Alice?" she mimicked, throwing her hands up. "Is it a question, or your name? I'm Sam, daughter of Ares. You want to fit in here, stay on my good side."

"Yes, ma'am." I saluted.

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you_ mocking _me?"

"…no?"

She grabbed my shirt. "Not very smart, kid."

Kid? There was no way she was older than me.

She pulled back her arm.

I didn't think. I pointed my hand at the ground, imagining vines sprouting out of it and wrapping around her legs. I could feel a kind of energy going through me, and I concentrated on making the vines crawl up her arm.

"What the-" I opened my eyes and saw the assailant struggling with a sticky green substance lining her body.

"What kind of freak are you?" she asked, and ran to her cabin.

I felt tired. I tried to take a step, but my legs felt like they couldn't support me.

Nico caught me from behind. "You really shouldn't do that until you've had more practice."

I looked indignantly at him. "I didn't mean to."

He stared at me. "I have a hunch who your parent is."

"Really? Who?"

"You'll find out eventually. But it makes me wonder what they're waiting for." He frowned and stared into space. "Why don't you go back to your cabin and take a nap?"

I yawned. "Sounds good."

I left him staring at the fallen vines on the ground, brow furrowed.

**a/n: Well, I didn't go back and edit this chapter, so tell me about any errors you found. I have to go write an essay and do tons of homework. Ciao!**


	6. I Become Meddling Alice

**a/n: Ahhh. Nothing like Mulan, a plate of oreos, and a warm snuggie to get me in my happy place :)**

I woke to the annoying sound of a horn.

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the many windows of the cabin, momentarily blinding me and causing me to trip and fall against various pieces of furniture in the cabin.

I stumbled outside and saw numerous groups of kids walking in the same general direction. I decided to follow.

I was feeling very lonely until miraculously, a voice sounded behind me.

"Hey…Alice, right?"

I turned. "Yup. You're Jess?"

She smiled. "That's me. Going to dinner?"

I looked at the mass of people walking all around me. "I guess."

"This is the first dinner. We have so many cabins that we have three meal times now, each an hour apart. Since you're the only one in your cabin, you make your own rules, so you can sign up for any lunch you want." She frowned. "Oh, how I envy you."

I laughed. "Why? Who decides from your cabin?"

"Jenn Smith. She's the cabin leader."

It took a second for the information to click. I stopped dead. "You're…a child of Aphrodite?"

Her face turned sour. "Goddess of love and beauty. Or, as I like to say, mother to the biggest bunch of narcissists you will ever meet."

"But you look so…."

"Un-pretty?"

"No, not that." Now that I looked more closely, I realized she was very pretty. Her skin was unblemished and her hair, which had to have been carelessly done, looked perfect. "You just look so normal."

She rolled her eyes. "'Round these parts, it's called _emo_. Not normal."

"Stereotypes are demeaning."

"I couldn't agree more."

We talked a little more as we walked. She explained to me that she was raised by her father in New Jersey. She came to camp during winter and spring break, as well as every summer.

"Does he like to get rid of you?" I couldn't imagine my parents sending me away that often.

She shook her head. "Nah. I just come to train. School makes you slow, you know? And Jersey isn't exactly monster free, even for an Aphrodite kid."

"Do you spend a lot of time with the guidos down at the shore?"

She shoved me, laughing. "Oh, please! Don't even get me started on that! I hate living in a place with that kind of reputation!"

We arrived at what had to be the mess hall. There were a dozen tables spread all around the pavilion, and unlit torches lined the outside. A giant fire blazed in the middle, where a long line of kids ranging from eleven to twenty years old were getting rid of their food.

"Is that like some kind of way to help the environment?" I whispered to Jess when we got on line for food.

"Offerings for the gods." She whispered back.

Whatever. I'll roll with it. I got a turkey sandwich with sun chips on the side and followed Jess to the fire. She whispered something I couldn't hear to the rising smoke.

Then it was my turn. I thought about what I should say. Send me a sign? Are you really out there? Can we at least be facebook friends?

"Enjoy." It was the only thing I could think of that didn't sound snooty. The curling smoke actually smelled pretty good. I watched it drift up towards the clouds, free to go where it wished.

I sighed heavily, a feeling of gloom hanging over me. I didn't want to be here, but if I went home, I would be putting my family in danger.

I was trapped, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Alice, over here!" Jess called from a table on the far side of the pavilion. I walked over and seated myself between her and Jenn. I felt a small amount of comfort in the fact that I knew at least two people in this place.

I looked around. Everyone at the table was stunningly beautiful.

"Does each cabin have a table?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah. But there's no undetermined table, so you can sit wherever you want until you get claimed. It shouldn't be too long."

We ate in silence for a while, besides a girl with a big nose at the end of the table who was cussing her brother out for stealing her foundation.

"What lunch does Nico have?" I asked through a mouthful of turkey. I didn't see him around.

"Six. The one after this."

"Oh." I turned back to my sandwich.

"How do you know Nico?" she was regarding me carefully, masking her face of any kind of emotion.

"Oh, you know…just from around."

She raised an eyebrow.

I shrank uncomfortably under her gaze. "We met in New York a few days ago. He told me about this place."

"Didn't your parent tell you about it?"

My par_ents _don't know about…this." I waved my hand.

She stared at me.

"Your parents don't know you're a half blood?" Jenn asked, her mouth hanging open.

The table got very quiet. Jeez, guys. Eavesdropping is so tacky.

"_I_ didn't even know about this until a few weeks ago. Nico told me about it all and I still wasn't going to come, but I got attacked by this weird snake-lady on the subway and decided I should check it out." I took in a breath and looked around, hoping no one would ask for more details.

"…oh." Jess said, clearly wanting to ask more questions but deciding to respect my privacy.

She offered to walk around with me a little after dinner. We emptied our plates in the bin and leisurely strolled away from the chatter. I felt a little less insecure with the loss of people.

Deciding I was feeling annoying, I elbowed Jess in the side. "So, how do YOU know Nico?"

She reacted just the way I hoped she would: she blushed. "We met last summer dueling during sword practice."

"Aaaaand?"

"He kicked my butt." She laughed.

"And it was love at first swipe!" I sang, kicking my foot out like a chorus line member.

"She laughed harder, her face even redder. "Shut up!"

"He likes you, too, you know. You should ask him out."

"No, he doesn't. I would just mess everything up!"

I stared at her, amazed she could be so thick. "You're the daughter of the goddess of love, and you can't see an obvious relationship like this?" I regarded her more closely. "Or are you just in denial?"  
"I'm not denying anything! I just don't want to mess everything up!"

We'd arrived at a lake, where a few clusters of people lounged around, tanning themselves or having splash fights in the water.

"Mess what up?" We both turned to see Nico sitting on the beach, glancing up from the pages of a book.

"Nico! How lovely to see you! Working off that Underworld pallor?"

He stuck his tongue out. "You need it more than me, doll face."

"Oh, ho ho. Well, I just remembered that I have to do something very important in my cabin. I'll see you two later!"

Jess made desperate hand signals at me. I whispered barely coherent commands at her. We argued almost inaudibly before I finally escaped.

I grinned to myself as I walked away. They really were a good match. I just hoped she didn't chicken out.

I realized when I'd walked far enough away that I had nothing else to do now. The campfire was at nine, so that gave me a little more than three hours to walk around aimlessly.

Ugh. It was so _boring _here.

"_Alice Wood to the Big House. And don't even think about going somewhere else or the harpies will find you. Thank you." _I looked around, confused. They had a loudspeaker here? Who were the harpies?

I walked as fast as I could to the farmhouse anyway and pushed open the door.

A bored looking man in a Hawaiian shirt and a man in a wheelchair sat in the main room.

"Alice, dear. How nice to finally meet you." The man in the wheelchair greeted me with a warm smile.

"Uh…hey. Are you Chiron?"

"Indeed. And this is Mr. D." Chiron gestured to the grumpy man beside him.

"Charmed." He stated, sounding like he was anything but.

"Hullo." I shifted feet nervously.

"Relax, dear. We only called you down here to make your schedule. Sit down." Chiron gestured to the empty sofa. I sat down tentatively.

"How did you get to the Underworld?" Mr. D blurted out beside him.  
"Uh…I….how did you know I was in the Underworld?"

"Nico told me he dreamt of a girl dying in the Underworld and he had to leave to save her." Chiron calmly replied.

"That's how he knew I was down there?"

"He never told you?" Chiron furrowed his brow.

"I never asked." I didn't want him to get in trouble or anything, since he had in fact saved me from death. "Anyway, I just looked in a hole and fell in."

"That's it?" Mr. D asked rudely.

"Yeah. That's it."

They shared a look with each other.

"Well, that's that. Now, do you have any idea what activities you'd like to sign up for?"

A-B-C-D

I emerged from the farmhouse fifteen minutes later with my new schedule. I'd picked five activities at random because I had no idea what most of the stuff on the list was. The required courses were sword-fighting and archery, so I had no say in those.

"What did you say to Jess?"

I looked to my left and grinned. "What ever do you mean?"

Nico glared at me. "She was acting all weird. What did you say to her?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about! What did she say to you?"

"Not much. She stayed for about five minutes and then made some excuse to leave."

I mentally cursed her. Wuss. "Why haven't you asked her out yet?" I asked him bluntly.

"Because it wouldn't work out."

God, these two were annoying. "Why wouldn't it work out?"

"Because it just wouldn't! Stop meddling, Alice!"

I threw up my hands. "Alright, alright. No more meddling. Relax."

He took my schedule out of my hands, forcibly changing the subject. "I hate these things. There was nothing wrong with the way they used to do stuff, but no that we have all these cabins, they're just running the camp like high school." He muttered to himself as he read the paper. He eyed me disbelievingly. "Arts and crafts? Seriously?"

I grinned. "It sounded like fun!"

"Arts and crafts, canoeing, gymnastics…they offer gymnastics here?"

I shrugged. "Chiron said it was new."

"…sword-fighting, Monsters 101, and archery." He handed me the schedule. "Have fun. We'll be canoeing together. Why didn't you sign up for rock-climbing?"

"Uh…cause I didn't want to die?" We started walking in a random direction.

"Typical. Ever since they made that an optional course, no one takes it."

"Stop muttering. It's rude."

He made an annoying sound at the back of his throat.

"Hey, New Girl!" I looked up and saw a group of people lined up on the volleyball court. "Wanna join?" I was surprised to see that the speaker was none other than Sam, the girl who had bullied me earlier.

I looked at Nico. He shrugged. "I'm already late for dinner. You might as well."

"Is she gonna beat me up?" I whispered.

"I don't think so. She wouldn't need to invite you for that." He walked away and left me no choice.

My suspicions lessened when she put me on her team. At least that meant she wasn't going to smack me in the face with a ball…right?"

"Zero serving zero!" she shouted, smacking the ball overhand and putting it right in the middle of the other court. The other team scrambled to hit it back, but missed completely.

There were no boys playing, but I couldn't see any one distinguishing feature on either team, so I just assumed it was a mix of girls from different cabins.

"One serving zero!" The ball sailed into the net, and the other team rotated.

A petite girl with red hair moved in to serve, and failed miserably at it.

My team rotated. I moved to the back. A girl who I could only assume was Sam's sister moved to the serving position and smacked it over. The other team returned it, starting our first volley.

Unfortunately, it was coming straight towards me.

Now, I'm actually pretty decent at volleyball, but sometime I fold under pressure. I set up my arms and bounced the ball back. It would've gone out of bounds, but a tall girl tried to hit it back in and failed miserably, giving us the point.

There were cheers from our team. I grinned, no longer feeling nervous.

We played a few games, people leaving and being replaced by girls from other lunches.

We stopped when the lights from the pavilion went off.

"Eight o'clock! Everybody get lost!" Sam's sister, who I now knew as Clarisse, shouted.

The crowd scattered. "You play pretty good for a plant girl." Sam smiled, clapping me on the back.

Ow. "Thanks."

"Between you and me…" she crouched down close to my ear after confirming Clarisse was not looking in our general direction. "I don't like the whole 'initiation' thing. But Clarisse insists on it. And she's the boss, so what're you gonna do?"

"So…are we friends?" I hoped against hope.

She looked at me for a moment. "Yeah, sure. Friends. See you around."

Not having anything to do, I walked back to my cabin and decided to write to my parents. Chiron and Mr. D had explained to me (much to my dismay) that there was no technology in camp, so I was forced to go old school and write a letter.

'Dear Mom and Dad,' I wrote, then stopped. I had to be careful about what I told them.

'Camp is going well. I've made some new friends, and signed up for some really cool stuff. I'll make you something in arts and crafts. Love, Alice.'

There. Simple enough to withhold information while assuring them that I was okay.

I walked back to the Big House and slipped it in the mailbox on the front porch.

I looked at my watch. It was 8:45.

I decided to just get to the campfire early instead of wandering around alone.

I was surprised to find that a lot of campers were already there, including some that were starting the campfire with only their hands.

"Alice!" Jess called from a few feet away. I went and sat beside her. "This is Mel, Elisabeth, and Sarah." I recognized Elisabeth as the redhead from the volleyball game.

"Howdy." I returned.

"Mel is a child of Hermes, Elisabeth is my sister, and Sarah is a daughter of Persephone."

My ears perked up. "Persephone?"

"That's right." Sarah smiled. She pointed her hand at the ground and a pretty white flower grew up almost instantly. She broke the stem and handed it to me.

"Pretty." I remarked, twisting the flower between my fingers. I thought of poor Persephone in the Underworld. She was probably still sitting there alone. I suddenly felt much more grateful for my spaced-out punishment.

"Alright, children. Sit down and shut up." Dionysus called.

Everyone immediately quieted. "Now, announcements for tomorrow: David Perez will be substituting archery class tomorrow while Diana recovers." He gestured to a girl with her arm in a sling, smiling embarrassedly.

"The Hermes cabin is on kitchen duty tomorrow-" A series of groans from six or seven kids, including Mel, ensued.

"Shut up! It's your own faults. And finally, regardless of what the Aphrodite children tell you, bikinis do not look good on everyone." Jess snickered beside me.

"Now, let's begin with Minos's land!"

Everyone erupted in song around me, some very off-key, singing strange lyrics to a tune I recognized. I stared at the fire, trying to memorize the words for next time.

They sang a few more songs (the fire getting higher every time their voices got louder) before everyone was dismissed.

A few people, including myself, stayed for s'mores afterward. The chocolate was melted and the marshmallows gooey. It was like heaven between two graham crackers.

Jess offered to walk me back to my cabin. After bidding her friends goodbye, we walked in silence toward my cabin.

"You didn't…tell Nico I liked him, right?"

"Of course not."

"Good. I want to tell him myself."

I stared at her. "Then do it."

"I will. Just, not now. I'll do it when the time is right." She stared up at the moon.

I regarded her carefully. "Alright, I'll stop bugging you about it. Just do it soon, okay?"

She nodded. "I will. Night."

"G'night." I pulled the rickety door back and walked inside, changing into my pajamas and sliding under the covers. There was still lots of noise from other cabins all around me, but I was feeling tired after my long day. My eyes closed almost immediately.

Well, the day could've been much worse, but my real classes started tomorrow, so I was still wary.

Dear God, just help me get through these two weeks.

**a/n: I realize I'm a terrible updater, but once a month is really the best I can do. My school is ridiculous. Anyway, thanks for reading :D**


	7. I Discover my Heritage

**a/n: I am SO sorry! Last month my journalism class had to work furiously to put the paper together, and then I had midterms. But I promise, my normal monthly updates will return. **

**Thank you so much for nominating Alice for best OC! It means a lot to me :)**

**To the anonymous reviewer of chapter 6, Nico and Alice will end up together. As I like to say, the path to romance isn't always a straight line. Have patience :)**

**And for those of you who feel the story is moving too slowly, I apologize. When I have a free moment I will make a timeline for this story so I can avoid any further slow chapters. **

I turned my face toward the blessed spray and willed my legs not to collapse. A shower had never felt so wonderful.

A week had passed since I'd come to Camp Half-Blood. I'd made some new friends, knew almost everyone in my activities by name, and was now being run into the ground with exhaustion.

Arts and crafts was a blast. I'd befriended a set of twins named Ashley and Danielle who constantly bickered with each other in a way that was enjoyable to watch.

Canoeing was also fun, and I'd already beaten Nico in a race (he beat me the other nine races, but who's counting those?)

Gymnastics was easy since I'd been taking classes since preschool. There were only four other campers who'd signed up for the course, and two of them couldn't even do a cartwheel.

Sword-fighting was…hard, to say the least. We had one two-minute break in the middle, but worked the entire rest of the time. Within five minutes I'd be sweating madly. The instructor's name was Toby. He was a son of Hermes, probably around seventeen, whom every girl fawned over. I mean, I guess he was attractive, but I didn't get what the big deal was.

Monsters 101 was a joke. Like all the other students, I had to teach myself about all the mythological monsters on my own time. In class, the "instructor," an Aphrodite girl named Saige, sat and painted her nails or gabbed away on the phone with her boyfriend. I usually ended up playing hangman with my friend Steph or made fun of people with Mel.

I wasn't too bad at archery, but my consistency was terrible. One day I'd be hitting the target every time, and the next people would be ducking to dodge the free-flying arrows. My only friend in archery was Sarah, but she was quickly becoming one of my best friends, along with Jess and Nico.

And finally, after all this, I ate dinner. I had also picked up the habit of climbing this tree behind my cabin with a killer view of the stars. It was a fun pre-bedtime activity.

I sighed as I toweled off my wet hair. I was finally becoming accustomed to camp, but I missed my old friends and my parents terribly. I had managed to convince everyone that camp was fun and I was having the time of my life, but the comfort of home always seemed far away.

I forced my aching muscles back to my cabin and changed into sweatpants and a tee shirt. I still had an hour or so left until curfew (when the harpies would come and eat me, of course), so I decided to go look at the stars for a while.

I wound my hair into a loose bun and walked a straight line from the back of my cabin to the edge of the woods. A few campers were scattered around, playing games or swatting mosquitoes away.

It was difficult getting into the tree. Some of my limbs were choosing to shut down, and the ones that were still working felt like jello. But eventually, I managed to find a sturdy branch with a magnificent view of the dark sky.

I shivered at the slight chill. I hardly ever wore a sweatshirt anymore; the summer heat and the constant sweat made it unnecessary.

Just then, I heard a rustling sound. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. If this was some love struck couple coming to tell me that I was sitting in a popular make out spot, I was gonna pop one of them in the face.

"I hoped I'd find you here."

I turned, surprised. "Nico?"

"May I join you?"

"Uh…sure?"

He climbed up on one of the branches and gazed at the sky. "The stars remind me of my sister. Sometimes I come out here to talk to her."

"What was her name?"

"Bianca. You kind of remind me of her, actually."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good. You don't care what anybody thinks of you."

I twirled a loose strand of hair. "I care what people think. I just don't show it."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Were you looking for me?"

"Oh, right. Are you still planning on staying another week?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Would you consider staying the whole summer?"

I looked at him sharply. "Why?"

"Well…" he shrugged embarrassedly. "It's fun having you here. There's nothing at all that could make you stay?"

I considered the possibility. As sore as I was, training was kind of fun. And I was making a lot of new friends.

And there were no strange subway monsters here.

"I'll think about it." I said, looking away.

"Cool. Also, how would you feel about going into the Underworld tomorrow?"

Well he was just the bearer of annoying choices today. What's next? Would you rather lose your right hand or your left? Cause I've got a sword!

"I've got six and a half months to go eleven more days." I stated.

He looked at me sideways. "Yeah, but if you wait until the end of December, you'll be decorating the palace for Christmas."

Good point. "Do they celebrate Christmas in the Underworld?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was being sarcastic."

I grinned cheekily. "I'm rubbing off on you!"

"Yeah yeah. Anyway, it's Sunday tomorrow, so there are no organized activities. I thought it would be a good time to go."

"Ughhhhhhh…"

"Complaining will get you nowhere, sugar."

I snorted. "Cute."

"I thought so." He hopped off the tree. "See you tomorrow then?"

I sighed. "When should I get up?"

"Be ready by dawn."

I groaned loudly. He laughed and walked away. I stared at the sky, enjoying it while I still could.

Ha. Sugar. What an idiot.

A-B-C-D

My alarm buzzed annoyingly in my ear. The cabin was still dark, due to the fact that it was 5 AM. I sleepily got dressed and grabbed my bag of toiletries. It was creepy seeing the camp so deserted. The witching hour was over and the harpies had gone to sleep. It was a few short hours of peace before campers started to get up. The horn didn't ring on Sundays, since there were no activities.

The shower woke me up a little. I combed my hair and left it to dry however it pleased, then changed into jeans and a sweatshirt.

I yawned as I walked outside. Maybe I could just sleep the whole day in the Underworld. I packed my bag full of necessities (ipod, cards, ...etc.) and walked to the beach. Sarah told me that she watched the sunrise with her boyfriend once, and it had been incredible.

I lay down on the sand and used my bag as a pillow. I'll just shut my eyes for a minute and wait...

"Alice." I felt a slight jab on my arm. I mumbled something incoherent and tried to get comfortable again.

"Alice!" the voice said, louder this time. I cracked an eye open. "I'm not Alice. I'm her evil twin...Alex."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I told you to be ready by dawn."

I yawned. "I am ready. I guess I got up too early."

Nico shifted feet. "Well, c'mon then."

I sat up and looked at him. "Carry me?"

"No!"

"Pleaseeeeeeeeee?"

"No."

"I'll be your best friend!"

"Use the legs the gods gave you."

"I'm tiredddd." I whined.

He sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. Get your ring."

"Yay!" I happily tossed him my ring. He held it out in the palm of his hand and said something in Ancient Greek. He threw it on the sand and it turned into a door identical to the one I had left in a few weeks ago.

He tossed in the bags and crouched down in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and jumped on his back, feeling like a small child.

He grunted. "Jeez, eat much?"

"Shut up." I mumbled, resting my head on his back. I recognized his scent from his sweatshirt.

"Don't fall asleep on me." He warned, and stepped through the door.

It wasn't too bad, just a couple seconds of compressed breathing and lack of sight. Then I opened my eyes and discovered we were back in his old bedroom. He dropped me on the bed. I curled up in a ball and shut my eyes.

Stupid exhaustion. I'll get you back one day.

Wait…what?

E-F-G-H

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The first thing I noticed was the blankets tucked in around me. The second thing I noticed was Nico sitting in his chair in the corner reading a comic book.

"Well someone was tired." He glanced up from the pages.

I ran a hand through my hair. "How long was I out?"

"About two hours. You look like a little angel when you sleep."

I swung my legs out of bed. "My, aren't we flirtatious today?"

"My, aren't we narcoleptic today?" he stuck his tongue out.

"I'm just tired." I said. "I've never done so much work in my life. Now it's like my whole life is planned out."

"You get used to it." He said, putting his comic down.

We stared at each other awkwardly.

"So," he said, clearing his throat. "Want to play cards?"

J-K-L-M

"Uno."

"DAMMIT!" I threw down my remaining card. "I'm done with this game! What time is it?"

Nico glanced at his watch. "About five."

"When can we go?"

"After it gets dark. Nine fifteen should be good."

I groaned. "I'm so bored. Let's play a game."

He rolled his eyes. "We were playing a game."

"Well, let's play a game you can't rig."

"I wasn't rigging it! You just suck!" he exclaimed, apparently tired of my accusations.

He was totally cheating. "Would you rather be a doctor or a nurse?"

He stared at me. "What?"

"Would you rather. It's a game."

He thought for a moment, resting his head against the back board. "Well, being a male nurse would make me look like a sissy, and I really don't mind people dying, so I guess a doctor."

"Okay, there are two things wrong with that. First of all, there is nothing wrong with being a guy and being a nurse. That's so sexist. Secondly, you do care when people die, you just pretend you don't. I'm not so blind I can't see that."

He was quiet for a minute. "You really don't think male nurses are sissy?"

N-O-P-Q

I hung my head off the side of the bed. "Okay, would you rather be the most popular kid in camp or the smartest?"

"Neither. But if I had to choose, I'd say smart."

"Why?"

"Because popularity is stupid. Would you rather date Orlando Bloom or Zac Efron?"

"Blech." I made a face. "Neither!"

"If you had to choose." He goaded.

"Probably Orlando then. He wasn't associated with Disney."

"Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney film." He pointed out.

I threw up my hands. "Then I don't care! Would you rather date Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie?" Megan Fox. Every guy picked Megan Fox.

"Angelina Jolie."

I seriously think he has mind-reading abilities. I need some tinfoil! "Why?"

He shrugged. "She's prettier."

I stared at him.

"Well, the way I see it, there are two different scales. On the first scale, you have cute, pretty, adorable, beautiful, etc., and on the second scale, you have hot, gorgeous, sexy, and all that stuff. Angelina is a first scale kind of gal, and Megan is on the second."

"So you're pretty much the only male on the planet that would choose a pretty girl over a sexy one?"

"Nah, there are more out there. We're very rare though."

"Well, I'm all for ending the exploitation of women. Maybe we need more guys like you."

He shrugged again.

"Have you told Jess she's pretty?"

"I thought you said you were going to leave this alone."

I tapped him with my foot. "Relax. I'm not meddling. This is just comfortable friend-on-friend talk."

He rubbed his nose. "No, I haven't told her."

I pictured Jess in my mind. "Actually, telling her she's pretty probably isn't a good idea. She doesn't seem too happy with her roots."

He looked at me, confused. "She dyes her hair?"

"No, stupid. I mean she's not happy about who her mom is. She wants to be recognized for her brain and talents, not just her looks. Compliment those." I suddenly felt a bitter jealousy towards my friend. She had it all-looks, smarts, good guys liking her…I thought about how my hair was probably a rat's nest right now, how my eyes had dark circles under them, how my clothes were a little baggy.

Nico interrupted my thoughts. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll try it. So, who do you like?"

I scoffed. "No one. Crushes are stupid and a waste of time."

"You're afraid of getting your heart broken."

Was he writing movie scripts now? "I'm not afraid. I just think it's stupid to go flinging your heart around to every cute guy you see."

"What if he's worth it?

"You know, there's a saying. 'Nobody is worth your tears, and the one who is won't make you cry.'"

"Well you won't know who the right person is the second you see him. You gotta put yourself out there!"

Ugh. He was beginning to sound like a teenage girl. "Whatever. Got any good books?"

R-S-T-U

"Yo! It's 9:15. We can go now."

"YES!" I snapped the book shut and gathered my bag.

"Ring me." Nico said, and I slipped the ring off my finger and placed it in his open palm.

He did the same thing as he had on the beach, and the door once again appeared out of thin air.

"Carry me again?" I asked hopefully.

"Sorry. One ride per customer. Why don't you carry me?"

Okay, so this probably wasn't the best idea. "Dude, you weigh a ton." I groaned as I attempted to give him a piggy-back ride to the Big House.

I focused on the not-so-distant lights and willed my legs to get there.

One step.

Two.

Three.

Okay, I can't do this anymore. I collapsed onto the grass. Here's a new training idea for you, Toby: get everyone to carry their partner around. You might not build trust, but you'll certainly build muscles.

Nico propelled himself off my back and I rolled over.

"Wimp." He said, his hands on either side of my face.

"Well, sorry. I don't work out at the arena nine times a day." I snapped, suddenly on edge.

"I just figured something out about you." He said casually, making no move to get up and make me less uncomfortable.

"Oh, really. Do tell."

"You revert to sarcasm when you get nervous."

"I use sarcasm all the time. And I'm not nervous."

He leaned closer. "Oh, really?"

Hello, you've reached personal space. Sorry we're not here to take your call. Please check the number and try again.

"Alice! What are you doing?"

Nico quickly rolled off me and stood up. I stood up next to him, feeling winded.

A woman in a white toga ran up to me. She had dirty blonde hair pulled into a familiar-looking messy bun. Her feet were slightly dirt-stained. Chiron rode up behind her, in full-centaur mode.

"Do I know you?" I asked uncertainly.

"Of course, dear! I am Demeter, goddess of the harvest and all things related to. And you are my daughter."

**I guess some of you are wondering why I skipped the letter I .**

**No, wait…why would you possibly be wondering that? How closely do you read? Sheesh! **

**Just kidding :) Here's a cookie if you realized the I was missing!**


	8. I Find a Hidden Mall

**a/n: Thanks everyone for your wonderful reviews :) They're so nice I get emotional :') (seriously).**

**for being my first real reviewer :)**

**Melbel10 for being my first subscriber :)**

**Percy Jackson Rulez for being my first favoriter :)**

**I'm just telling you now, this chapter is boring xD Bear with me!**

I stared at the blonde woman in the white toga standing in front of me. "You are my daughter."

The words rang like little bells through my head. Looking at her was like looking at an older version of me, but it wasn't the same as looking at Clara Wood, my real mother back home.

Then again, I guess Demeter was actually my real mother, which made my mother my not real mother, thus making her….ugh. My brain hurts.

Chiron looked flustered, like the situation had left his hands and he was desperate to get control again. "Lady Demeter, it is customary to use a sign to claim your daughter, not come into camp yourself…"

"Oh, you want a sign?" Demeter waved her hand dismissively. "There you go."

Chiron and Nico's eyes darted to above my head.

I looked up and saw a shining golden cornucopia. I swatted it away with my hand, much like an annoying mosquito on a hot summer's day.

"I'm here to discuss why _another_ one of my daughters is keeping company with skeletons and ghosts." The goddess spoke through gritted teeth.

"Oh, they're not bad really. They're actually quite pleasant conversationalists." I said easily. Nico elbowed me in the ribs while Demeter pretended not to hear me.

"Perhaps we should go inside…" Chiron said desperately, trying to avoid a scene. Demeter reluctantly agreed. She seemed eager to get the conversation started. I guessed she'd been working on her speech for a while, since it had been nearly a month since I'd gotten my punishment.

"Alice, stay here." Chiron commanded rather rudely while he and Demeter entered the Big House.

I scowled. I wasn't even allowed in a conversation that was _about _me?

"Um…sorry if I got you in trouble." Nico said uncharacteristically and unnecessarily.

I grabbed his arm and forcefully led him away. "C'mon. Let's go swimming or something."

A-B-C-D

"_Alice Wood to the Big House, please._"

I jumped up from the sand. I'd spent the last hour playing twenty questions with Nico. He was the worst chooser of clues in the history of twenty questions. "You are _awful_ at this game. Next time we play, no obscure Greek phrases!"

"I'll see you at the bonfire." He said, and stalked off. I took that to mean "Tell me everything later, or I'll come after you."  
I made my way to the overheated farmhouse and found Demeter standing outside alone.

"Alice," she said sadly, reaching out a hand to touch my cheek.

I backed away.

She looked even more crestfallen. "I'm sorry about this whole mess. I'll keep fighting for you."

"Don't." I said, surprised by the strength of my voice. "I'll suffer my punishment. I can accept the consequences of my actions." Yeah, that sounded good. I think it's from a movie or something.

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it's the boy."

I stared at her. "What?"

"That _boy _has convinced you that the Underworld is good, hasn't he? And you like him?"  
I couldn't believe how immature she sounded. She was an ancient goddess, for the love of…Zeus. "He's my friend. Just stay out of my life. You've done a pretty good job until now." I knew how harsh it sounded, and I didn't really mean it, but I didn't like this woman. I walked away and I noticed a big flash of light behind me.

When I turned around, she was gone.

E-F-G-H

"Where have you been all day?" Jess asked me when I met her before dinner.

"In my cabin. I didn't feel well." I said without emotion.

"Oh. I also haven't seen Nico all day…"

"Really? What a strange coincidence." Duh, Jess.

She didn't seem to give the situation any more thought as we waited in line to get our food. I wasn't really hungry, so I just got some bread. I said nothing when I fed a portion of it to the fire.

I could feel Jess' eyes on me the entire time at dinner. She wanted to know why I was in such a dull mood, but she didn't want to pry.

I skipped volleyball after dinner and went to my cabin. I took out my iPod and put it on shuffle. "Help is on the Way" by Rise Against came on. The screen went dark and I stared at my reflection.

I did look similar to Demeter, but she was able to work with her looks to the point where she was extremely pretty, even for being as old as she was. I would always just be Alice. Plain, boring, no real mother or purpose in life, Alice.

This was ridiculous. I felt numb and unhappy, all because of a two-minute conversation with the goddess of the harvest. The rest of the day hadn't even been that bad. It wasn't exactly fun in the Underworld, but it certainly wasn't terrible.

Speaking of the Underworld, I guess Persephone was my half-sister now. I suddenly felt a strong urge to talk to her. I wish she had a cell phone. 1-800-GET-FLOWERS. Ha ha.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. "Alice?" a voice called. I didn't respond, but the door opened anyway. "Are you okay?" Jess asked, sitting beside me on the bed.

I lowered the music. "I'm fine."

She was quiet for a moment. "I heard about…what happened."

I didn't say anything.

"Can I give you a makeover?"

I stared at her. "What?"

"I said, can I give you a makeover?"

"Um...why?"

"Well…it'll help take your mind off of things. And, no offense, but you don't exactly seem the most confident in your appearance."

Ouch. "Offense taken. But sure, I guess. If you think you can do anything for me."

"Sorry." She apologized. "But I swear, it'll be fun. And we've got about three hours until the bonfire."

"You're gonna give me a makeover for three hours?" I asked incredulously.

"Just c'monnnn!" she said, practically dragging me through the door.

"You know, for someone who's not a girly daughter of Aphrodite, you're certainly acting like one." I grumbled when she led me into cabin number ten.

My mouth fell open. The inside of the cabin was twice the size of what it looked to be on the outside. Four sets of triple bunk beds were crowded in the corner, while twelve vanities lined the walls almost all the way through. A set of curtains covered a corner in the back. It was probably what the seven dwarves' hut would have looked like if they all got girlfriends.

Jess led me over to the third vanity and sat me down in the chair. I spun back and forth while she scrutinized my appearance. "Hmm…first thing I need to do is your eyebrows. Jared!"

A boy who could've been Jess' twin came out from behind the curtain. He wore a fedora and button-down shirt. "'Sup, sis?"

"I need you to find Alice some clothes. Shoes, too."

He squinted at me. "Got it."

"How will he know my sizes?" I asked Jess.

She shrugged. "He just knows that stuff. Kind of a weird ability really."

"Oh." I put my head back like she instructed me. "What can you do?"

She grinned. "Eyebrows! I'm telling you, we need to have a dance here at the end of the summer. Between me and all of my siblings, we could make a fortune functioning as a beauty salon. Close your eyes."

"Uh…okay." I tried to keep up with her train of thought.

I felt her smear something hot above my left eyebrow. "What is that?"

"Wax," she explained. "Just relax. It'll only hurt for like five seconds."

She didn't tell me that five seconds was actually twenty-five seconds of searing pain, since she had to do it five bloody times.

Jared emerged from behind the curtain holding a blue v-neck tee and a pair of jean shorts. The shorts were ripped in a few places, making them look much cooler than mine. "Nice." I approved. Jess smiled. "Now, time to do your hair."

She took out the object I had spent several years of my life avoiding.

"My hair doesn't straighten." I warned her, anticipating waves of pain in the form of burns.

"Relax. I'm a professional." She said, distracting me a pair of flip-flops with little jewels on the straps. So shiny…

She opened one of the drawers of the vanity and pulled out a gigantic clip, a little too big for my hair, which only went a few inches past my shoulders.

I could feel the top few layers of my hair being secured with the oversized piece of plastic, and visibly winced when a heated object came in close contact with my neck.

"Alice, seriously, chill out. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"I'm not an ice cube! I can't just 'chill out' on will!" Damn. Nico was right.

I took a deep breath. I needed to zone out.

Hmmm. Maybe I should pretend the straightener was a dragon. Yeah! And I was a princess- no, wait. That's lame. I was a _ninja _princess from Narnia who was sent to fight the dragon and rescue the damsel in distress…Nicole. Ha ha. I like this fantasy.

I managed to keep my mind going for the ten minutes it took Jess to work on my hair.

"Done!" she said, and unplugged the dreaded device.

"Can I look now?" I asked, eager to see what straight hair looked like on me. She stopped my spinning chair. "No! You have to wait until I'm done!"

Next in my line of torture came makeup. I'd avoided it for so long because I knew it was like a drug; once you started using it, you couldn't stop. When I told Jess this, she scoffed. "Makeup doesn't change who you are. What does it matter if you use it or not?"

Well, she did have a point there…

She pulled out a black pencil and convinced me to relax while she rubbed it under my eyes. Then she took out dark eye shadow and rubbed it on my eyelids. Next came a touch of blush and some mascara for my eyes.

Now I just felt like a doll.

She pulled out a few pieces of brightly colored hair and told me to choose. When I just stared at her in confusion, she explained "they're extensions. So you can still be an individual."

I chose electric blue ones, and she did some strange thing with my hair to make them stay.

Lastly, she gave me the clothes and pointed me toward the curtain.

My jaw will never drop lower than it did just then. Behind the curtain was a smaller curtain, and behind _that _was just short of every clothes store in my mall combined.

There were dozens of racks of clothes, each labeled by size and fabric type.

Maybe being the daughter of a goddess of nature wasn't so bad, after all.

I found a secluded spot and changed quickly, rolling my other clothes into a ball.

Jess grinned when I walked out. I gaped at my reflection in the oversized mirror.

What had only a few hours ago been a plain, uninteresting mouse was now a cute but still unique girl. I especially loved the hair extensions; they started right where my hair ended and made it seem much longer.

"Like it?" Jess asked, like she already knew the answer.

"Yes!" I loved it. This is how I'd always wanted to look; everything just felt so _me_, but I would still look acceptable in most people's eyes. I felt more like myself than I had in a long time.

"Told you it would make you feel better." Jess smiled again and handed me a small makeup bag. "Here you go. This is everything I used on you today, with a few different eye shadows. If you need help, just ask me.

"Does this cost any money?" I asked, wondering if I'd just cost her an entire month of allowance.

She shook her head. "Mommy dearest supplies everything. Personally, I think she _wants _us to start a beauty salon."

Reality set back in when we began the short walk back to my cabin. Every person I saw would start whispering to their friend and openly staring at me, and I knew it wasn't because of my new look.

I turned to Jess. "What did you hear about me?"

She sighed. "Someone saw you get claimed. Someone who's very talkative, apparently."

"That's it? They didn't hear the conversation, did they?" I pressed.

She looked at me strangely. "No…why? What were you talking about?"

"_Alice Wood to the Big House, please_."

"Wow, twice in one day." Jess remarked.

Well, at least it saved me from answering her question.

I-J-K-L

"A schedule change?"

Chiron winced at the sound of my words. "Alice, you've been claimed. It happens to everyone…it's perfectly natural."

"With all due respect, sir, we're talking about changing my entire way of life here- not puberty."

He smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry, my dear. You need to pack your bags and move to cabin four."

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. ."This is so unfair!"

The door opened and Nico walked in. "Chiron, look, I can understand if you move Alice to the Demeter cabin, but changing her schedule is ridiculous. She chose her activities, and making her do something else now would be bad for her morale."

Morale! Good one, boy wonder! To the bat cave!

Chiron seemed to consider his words. Wow, I'll skip s'mores tonight if this actually works.

The centaur sighed. "I suppose you're right. Alice, you don't have to change your activities, but you do have to change dinner times and cabins."

"Thank you." I said, not quite satisfied but knowing it was the best I could get.

Nico looked over like he had no idea I'd been in there the whole time. I saw a trace of confusion cross his face, then it was neutral. "Shall we?" I asked, crossing to the door.

When we were safely outside, I turned to him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He said, studying me.

"Oh, this." I gestured to myself. "Jess tried to cheer me up."

He examined one of the extensions. "I like it. Blue looks good on you."

Okay, no sarcasm. "Thank you. Shall we go to the fire?"

He offered me his arm. "Let's. But I think you should pack first."

My face fell. "Oh…right."

Fifteen minutes later, all my belongings had been shoved back in their suitcase. Nico faithfully accompanied me to the door of cabin four and promised to wait outside until I was done.

The cabin had a grass roof. Tomato vines climbed the walls, and little rabbit holes surrounded the front lawn. I made a wide berth around the holes. With my luck I'd fall down one and end up in Hades' shower.

The inside of the cabin was even more extreme than the outside. There was no dirt floor, like I was expecting, but the boards were a very dark brown, like they were pretending to be earth. Small potted plants were next to every bunk bed. They were all unique, which I took to mean every cabin member got to make their own.

Just like in the Aphrodite cabin, three sets of bunk beds were crammed into a corner of the room. The floor boards had been taken out of the far corner. Two girls with identical braids and bandanas were hoeing the dirt there.

A girl who looked to be about eighteen greeted me with a smile. She had dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes. "Welcome, Alice. I'm Katie Gardner. You've got the top bunk over there."

Great. The nosebleed seat. I thanked her anyway and packed my clothes into the third drawer bellow the bunks. I counted six little potted plants all around me. There was one empty one, which I guess meant I was number seven.

Wow. I went from being an only child to having seven siblings, one of them being a full goddess. What a weird day.

I exited the cabin after learning the names of the twins inside (Tara and Megan) and found Nico and Jess talking animatedly outside. I watched them silently for a minute. A strange feeling that I couldn't identify went through me. The two of them would make a good couple, but at the same time they…wouldn't. I had no idea what I was thinking.

"Hey. You guys ready?"

"All settled?" Nico asked. I nodded, and we started walking.

I hung behind them a little. And very slowly, his hand reached over and grasped hers.

Great. Just another fun little twist in my life.

**Preview: Chapter 9**

Most people hate change.

They like the dull, ordinary routine of their ordinary lives. Although it offers nothing great, it's predictable and safe.

I am not one of those people. I like change, and I like having things shaken up once in a while. It makes me feel like I'm actually living,

I could've gone on without _dramatic _change, though. First it was falling into the Underworld, then it was finding out I was half god, then it was living in an insane camp for a week, then it was discovering my birth mother, and now it was changing cabins. And, as an added bonus, my two best friends are going out now. Peachy.

My appearance could be considered good change, though. It was my third day wearing makeup, and I was already used to the different materials and longer bathroom time. After I got ready in the morning, I no longer stressed about how I looked. Nico had been dead wrong when he told me I didn't care what anybody thought- I cared more than anybody.

And with the new satisfaction in my appearance came more time to stress about daily life.

I was finally adjusting to the new cabin (although having scheduled shower and bedtimes sucked).

Ever since Nico and Jess started their spontaneous relationship, I'd been growing closer to my other new friends. I was even making more. I pretty much knew everyone at camp now, but most of the kids started coming in July, which meant I only had a few more days to be comfortable.

I finished my morning routine and changed into a black tank top (they're actually comfortable! Who knew?) with Soffe shorts.

I made my way to the Persephone cabin. Sarah had agreed to help me contact Persephone (I'd told her about the whole Underworld situation, and she was sympathetic).

On the way, I noticed a large group of people gathered near Half-Blood Hill.

"What's going on?" I asked the nearest person, who just happened to be my sword-fighting instructor.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase just got here." Toby explained, with his weird, knowing smile I'd been seeing the past few days.

I turned uncomfortably away. "Oh."

**a/n: Review if you know what movie Alice took that line from :) **


	9. It's Called the Murder Game

**a/n: Happy seventeenth birthday to me! :D This is a filler chapter, but I promise the next one will be good. **

**Shout out to Erin for helping me brainstorm and edit this chapter!**

**Btw, the line from the last chapter was from **_**Pirates of the Caribbean**_**. No cookie for anyone!**

* * *

Most people hate change.

They like the dull, ordinary routine of their ordinary lives. Although it offers nothing great, it's predictable and safe.

I am not one of those people. I like change, and I like having things shaken up once in a while. It makes me feel like I'm actually living,

I could've gone on without _dramatic _change, though. First it was falling into the Underworld, then it was finding out I was half god, then it was living in an insane camp for a week, then it was discovering my birth mother, and now it was changing cabins. And, as an added bonus, my two best friends are going out now. Peachy.

My appearance could be considered good change, though. It was my third day wearing makeup, and I was already used to the different materials and longer bathroom time. After I got ready in the morning, I no longer stressed about how I looked. Nico had been dead wrong when he told me I didn't care what anybody thought- I cared more than anybody.

And with the new satisfaction in my appearance came more time to stress about daily life.

I was finally adjusting to the new cabin (although having scheduled shower and bedtimes sucked).

Ever since Nico and Jess started their spontaneous relationship, I'd been growing closer to my other new friends. I was even making more. I pretty much knew everyone at camp now, but most of the kids started coming in July, which meant I only had a few more days to get ready.

I finished my morning routine and changed into an orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD tank top (they're actually comfortable! Who knew?) with Soffe shorts.

I made my way to the Persephone cabin. Sarah had agreed to help me contact Persephone (I'd told her about the whole Underworld situation, and she was sympathetic).

On the way, I noticed a large group of people gathered near Half-Blood Hill.

"What's going on?" I asked the nearest person, who just happened to be my sword-fighting instructor.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase just got here." Toby explained, with his weird, knowing smile I'd been seeing the past few days.

I turned uncomfortably away. "Oh."

I watched with everyone else as a boy with jet-black hair and a blonde-haired girl walked down the hill.

I vaguely remembered Nico saying something about Percy Jackson being a big hero of Olympus. I guess the blonde girl was Annabeth, then.

"Hey." A voice said behind me.

"Hey," I greeted Nico beside me. "Where's Jess?"

"She had to write a letter. Where've you been lately?"

Avoiding you. "Oh, you know. Around."

"Are you avoiding me?" Seriously. Stop doing that. It's creepy. "Well, yeah. I thought you and Jess would want alone time and I didn't want to be a third wheel."

"Well, I appreciate the gesture, but we don't need alone time every second of the day."

I nodded. "Okay."

"I like the purple." He said, pointing to my hair. Jess had taught me how to make the extensions work with every hairstyle, and I was now rocking the wavy beach hair- without the beach, or a tan, or a bathing suit.

My hair was wavy, okay?

"Does he always have this big of a fan club?" I asked Nico as they two teens were swarmed by a group of admirers.

Nico shrugged carelessly. "It'll die down in a couple of hours. Want to do something today?"

I adjusted to his topic change. "Like what?"

"I dunno. Go swimming, play a game, find some friends…learn to walk on water, build a rocket and conquer an alien space colony, paint my toenails pink…"

"That sounds nice." I said absently, watching Annabeth greet a small blonde girl with enthusiasm. Percy stared at her with an adoring look on his face. I could tell just from their body language that these two really cared about each other. I wondered if they were an annoying couple to be around.

"Alice. ALICE!"

"What?" I snapped at Nico, who was clapping his hands in front of my eyes.

"You were spacing. Where do you want to go?"

"Oh, um…well, I was on my way to see Sarah about her mother."

He raised an eyebrow. "You told her about the Underworld?"

"She's the only one I've told. It'll only take a few minutes."

He shrugged and fell into step beside me. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. His appearance hadn't changed much since him and Jess had started dating: his hair still hung in his eyes a lot, his wardrobe still consisted mostly of black shirts and sneakers, and he still had the same way of walking. He sort of dragged his feet in the dirt, a habit I'd noticed a while ago. He could definitely be considered bad-boy cute. Not hot or anything, but cute.

"You're spacing again."

"Sorry." I apologized.

We reached the Persephone cabin, where Sarah sat waiting for me by the daisy patch. Her eyes slid to Nico questioningly.

"Look who I found trying to peek inside the girls' showers!" I said cheerfully.

Nico snorted. "I can blend into the shadows. There's no way you could catch me doing something sneaky."

Challenge accepted. "Anyway, what've you got?"

Sarah handed me a small plastic ring. I looked at it warily. "What is it with you demigods and rings? Does everyone in this camp have some strong desire to get married tomorrow or something?"

Nico slapped his forehead. "You figured us out. Well, I guess the jig is up! Alice," he got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

I flapped my hands in front of my face and jumped up and down. "Of course!"

Sarah stared at us, wide-eyed.

Oops. I forgot most people aren't used to the way we act. "Anyway, how does this work?"

"It's kind of like a telephone." Sarah explained. "Just press the flower on the top down and it works like a speaker."

"That is seriously cool." I remarked, turning it over in my hands. It looked like something you could get out of a vending machine.

"I'll being it back tomorrow." I promised her.

She nodded. "I need to go meet Jack. See you later."

"Her boyfriend." I explained to Nico when she was out of earshot.

"Ah. So you're basically the only single person in camp then?"

"Actually, being single is fun! I can do this-" I poked him in the chest. "And no one will look at me funny."

"Ow."

"Baby." I poked him again.

"Quit it!" he shoved my hand away.

I began mercilessly poking him. He refused to retaliate, so I poked him harder. He fell to the ground and curled up into a ball. I sat on him, continuing my relentless pokes and enjoying myself immensely.

"Um…hey, Nico."

I looked up. Percy Jackson was standing just a few feet away, looking amused.

Nico stood up to greet his friend. "Why is it that we're always doing something weird when someone comes to talk to us?"

I shrugged.

Percy held out his hand. "Hi, you must be Alice. I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

I found the last part kind of unnecessary, but maybe it was some sort of demigod code for "Hey, I'm important!"

"Nice to meet you. Were you the friend Nico stayed with after he found me?"

Percy nodded. "Uh-huh. It was fun. In fact, one night we got drunk off of too much sugar and had a karaoke party at 2 AM. Nico actually took one of my mom's lipstick tubes

and-"

Nico cleared his throat loudly. Percy grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "But that's another story. Anyway, what-"

"_All campers please report to the dining pavilion._" Chiron's voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

The three of us stared at each other.

"Can they do that?" I asked.

"I guess." Nico said uncertainly.

"Chiron told me he was trying a new exercise today…I wonder what we're doing." Percy thought aloud.

We walked to the familiar structure and joined the gigantic surge of campers. I wondered if there had ever been a time when they all wore their shirts the same way. Some girls knotted it in the back, some cut the sleeves off, one even dyed hers a bright pink…was an orange tee really that bad?

An incredibly muscular kid had cut the sleeves off his shirt. I watched with mild amusement as he pretended to be the statue from _Night at the Museum_. "Boom, boom. Firepower!" A group of girls giggled around him.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly. I aplogize for the short notice." Chiron started, while Mr. D. stood behind him wearing his usual 'sour grapes' expression.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning!" Someone shouted from the back. A blonde-haired boy had a towel wrapped around his waste. Bubbles decorated his hair.

Chiron pretended he hadn't heard him. "Mr. D and I have created a new training exercise that we think will help you learn special skills. Among these skills are stealth, trust, and suspicion. And before anyone makes a snide remark, trust and suspicion go hand in hand."

I looked around. A sea of bored and/or confused faces stared at the centaur.

"There are forty-three of you at camp right now. Ten of you are killers. The other thirty-three are innocent civilians. Your mission is simple: find the killers and bring them to justice. You have three days."

Dead silence.

"The killers know who they are. For the rest of you, here are the rules: if you are killed, a red triangle will be marked on your door in the morning. You are then disqualified from the game and forbidden to discuss the details with your partner. You cannot kill someone if you are not an official killer. If you wish to accuse someone of being a killer, you must have liable proof. If you do, the killer will be out of the game and you will be rewarded. If you don't, you will be disqualified. Any questions?"

"There are no _real _killers…right?" someone asked on the other side of the pavilion.

Chiron looked amused. "No, my dear. It is merely a training exercise."

"Can you or Mr. D be the killers?" another person asked.

Mr. D held up a hand. "I could be, if you wanted me to." There was a dark glint in his eye that made me think he wasn't joking.

No one else said anything, so Chiron clapped his hands together and smiled. He seemed way too into this. "To answer your question, Mr. D and I are not killers. Now, everyone find a partner. Make sure you trust this person, as they will be the only person you can discuss your suspects with. Oh, and one more thing! Anyone who does not catch a killer will suffer the consequences."

Uh-oh. Why were there always consequences?

I looked over at Nico, but he had already walked off to find Jess. Sarah was still with her boyfriend, and I didn't see anyone else nearby. I inwardly groaned. I'd probably get stuck with someone I didn't even know.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, want to be partners?"

I turned and saw my sword-fighting instructor. I squinted at him. "Are you really one of the killers just setting me up?"

He grinned. "Is that a no?"

"Sure, why not?" I said, although I couldn't help but notice he didn't answer my question.

A-B-C-D

"So, where should we start?" Toby asked after we'd signed in as partners.

I put my hands behind my head. "This whole thing is so weird. In a battle, we'll know who's on our side and who we're fighting against."

"Not necessarily." Toby said lightly, although there was something serious about his manner. "There are traitors and spies."

I waved a hand dismissively. "No one actually does that."

"During the Titan War, a lot of people did."

"Really? Why?"

He sighed. "It's complicated. A couple did it out of fear, but most did it out of anger. I was almost fourteen that summer, stuffed in the Hermes cabin with everyone else who was undetermined."

"What about the undetermined cabin?" I asked. We'd ended up at the lake. He sat on the sand, so I sat next to him and took my sandals off.

"It didn't exist then. There were only twelve cabins, one for each of the main gods and goddesses. Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus made this deal a while back to not have any kids because they were too powerful, so their cabins were always empty. Artemis isn't very fond of men, and Hera is the goddess of family, so their cabins were also empty."

"But that's only seven cabins. You're telling me everyone who was a child of a minor god got shoved in the Hermes cabin?" I asked incredulously.

"Uh-huh. We didn't have quite as many people then, but it was still tight."

"And what about Nico and Percy?"

"Well, Percy's dad broke the oath, and I'm assuming Nico's did, too. You'll have to ask him about it."

Hmm. Interesting.

"Anyway, you can imagine how some of us felt in there: unwanted an unimportant. We joined the Titan army hoping to get more respect. When we had to actually fight against our old friends, a lot of us realized how stupid we were being, and came back here."

I stared at him. "You?"

He looked pensively out at the water. "Me."

"Well, it's stupid for the gods to just leave their kids like that. What did they expect to happen?"

He grinned. "That's kind of what Percy said, too. That's why camp is the way you see it today."

I thought about what he said. I gave my mom a hard time when she came all the way to camp to help me. Toby's dad hadn't even acknowledged him until he'd had to.

"So, onto a better topic. Which one of our friends do we think is a cold-blooded killer?"

"The most pleasant conversation piece available." I agreed. "Well, this might sound awful, but I think we should wait until someone gets killed. We can start looking for clues then."

"Good idea."

E-F-G-H

Later on, I sat down with Nico and asked how he'd come to be the son of one of the most powerful gods.

He shrugged. "Well, my sister and I got trapped in this casino in Las Vegas. It was like the ultimate arcade. They had a water slide, a hot tub, I even got my own room…" his face clouded over.

"Nico?"

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "Long story short, we got out and came here. I was twelve when I went in and twelve when I left, even though I was in there for years."

"Wait, when were you born?"

"Before World War II."

I stared at him. "You're kidding."

He grinned. "Nope. But that means I'm an elder, and you should respect me."

Toby hadn't told me when the big three decided not to have any children, but I could only assume it was after Nico's birth.

"Who told you about the deal?"

"Toby."

He raised an eyebrow. "Toby as in chick-magnet-I'm-cooler-than-ice-the-sun-can't-melt-me-Toby?"

"Uh…sure?"

"Do you like him?"

"By all means, be blunter next time. I think you missed the point."

"That was a terrible pun; please never use it in conversation again."

" I don't like him. I barely know him, anyway."

"But, you might if you spend more time with him?"

I snorted. "I doubt it. He's not really my type."

He threw up his hands. "Sorry. I didn't know you had a 'type.'" He batted his eyelashes and puckered his lips.

"Watch it, grandpa, or I'll leave you in the middle of the crosswalk during rush hour."

"Well, I'm certainly not buying any girl scout cookies from you!"

* * *

**a/n: I apologize for the filler, but the next chapter is a good one. Not sure when I'll update next, because I have SAT's and my driver's test in the next two or three weeks. Ugh.**


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